Trouble
by Celestial Moonlight Blade
Summary: Harry Potter is a thief and a lawbreaker long before he gets his letter. Upon discovering he's a wizard, he sets out for the wizarding world - but he's doing things his way. Dumbledore has no idea what his decision to leave Harry with the Dursleys has wrought. Harry/Multi, darkish, some Dumbledore bashing, rating may go up later.
1. Chapter 1

**Trouble**

**Alright, this is another plot bunny that ambushed me in the night, I hope you guys like this one as much as Runaways. I do not own Harry Potter, only my idea.**

**Chapter 1: Criminal**

Six-Year-Old Harry Potter was standing on the roof of the Dursley's house, watching as Dudley and his band of friends tried to climb the walls to reach him. He had no idea how he had gotten up here, but he knew it meant he wouldn't be eating tonight, because not understanding what happened = freakishness, the highest crime you could commit in the Dursley household.

Uncle Vernon had made it clear that he wouldn't tolerate any of Harry's 'freakishness' inside his house, and any forthcoming would be met with being locked in the cupboard that served as his room or not being fed that day. Usually a combination of the two. Petunia would also deliver earsplitting lectures in a high pitched voice that never seemed to end. Other crimes included backtalk, outclassing their precious 'Dudders', and not doing his chores when he was told to. If he made them angry enough, they would hold a hand under hot water for a while, until it hurt so much he almost cried.

Vernon made sure everyone knew he was a freak so no one would want to be friends with him. He also didn't care that Dudley and his friends went after him and beat him up together. He would come home bruised and battered and usually to add insult to injury he would get in trouble for 'starting it'.

Harry didn't know what he had done to make Dudley hate him so much; was it just because he existed? But he hardly stole any of his aunt and uncle's attention; he didn't get more presents than Dudley and he would get in trouble if he ever got higher grades than his cousin. So why? Why?

He had asked himself that question so many times. Why? Why had his parents abandoned him to these people? Why did these strange things keep happening around him? Why did everyone hate him for these things, which he seemingly had no control over?

Harry was sad and lonely but today he was mostly angry.

Petunia and Vernon said he was a freak and a troublemaker. He had no idea what he had done to warrant that but apparently it was so.

And the last time he had been thrown in his cupboard a thought had snuck into his head; maybe he should do something bad. Something wrong. Something he wasn't supposed to. He could get back at them by breaking these things they liked so much, their precious 'rules'.

He was going to be punished either way, so why not do something? Why keep shying away from it when nothing he did could convince them he wasn't a bad boy?

He'd shooed the thought away, at first. He was appalled at the thought of deliberately antagonizing the Dursleys. They were hard enough on him as it was; deliberately disobeying them could only make it so much worse! Why give them extra reasons to hate him?

But two days later, shut up in his closet again for getting praised over Dudley for his artwork, the thought returned to him, more powerful than before. Dudley didn't deserve praise, and he did good work, why was he getting shut up? It wasn't worth being good, he just got in trouble anyway.

Do the dishes, do the weeding, do the mopping. It never ended. Paint the fence, do the laundry, stop getting better grades than Dudley, stop outrunning Dudley. Something was always wrong. Always. No matter what he did, they were always angry. They were never happy. They were never proud of him. He was just a freak and a burden. He never did anything right.

He was absolutely sick of it.

_Maybe I can make something freakish happen. Screw just sitting here and waiting for whatever they're going to punish me for next. If I'm going to be a bad freak, I'm going to be a _bad _freak!_

Harry glared hard at Dudley and John's hands. He felt something stir within him. Suddenly, with a scream, they fell from the roof, hit the alcove over the back porch and rolled off it onto the ground. Dudley started screaming his head off, summoning Petunia from the house.

Emboldened by his success, Harry glared down at his aunt's head, attempting to repeat what he had just done. Sure enough, he felt that strange pressure inside him.

Petunia screamed, and with a loud _CRASH _every window in the Dursley house, and every house on either side four houses down shattered.

Harry couldn't help it, he giggled. He had always thought Petunia's scream was like shattering glass; now he had proof!

Vernon waddled out of the house, shouting at the top of his lungs, Petunia was screaming uselessly and leaning over his whale of a cousin, and John's mother ran over from the house next door having heard her neighbour shriek.

Eventually Dudley – the little tattletale – pointed at the rooftop where Harry was sitting and giggling. John's mother shot to her feet and said, "that boy's gone too far, I'm calling the cops on him!"

"N-No Olive, don't worry, we can punish him," Vernon said, flustered. He didn't want the cops coming into his house and asking too many questions; he didn't want them to see the cupboard.

But Olive was vehmently shaking her head, and declared, "No, this is a professional case, he's broken my boy's wrist, bruised him terribly and knocked the wind out of him! That's criminal behavoir! Some time in Juive will set that little horror straight, I think!" She determinedly ran back into her house to get her phone, John whimpering pathetically on the lawn.

Harry had frozen at the words _cops. _He hadn't expected them to be called! Vernon always handled his punishments! But, what could the cops do that Vernon hadn't already done? They couldn't come up with anything he couldn't. There was no way they could be any worse.

The car came thirty minutes later, sirens blazing, an ambulance right behind it.

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Officer Linda Parker was at a loss. She stared at the black haired boy in front of her, no more than six. She had never gotten an attack from someone this young in all her years as a police officer. Bone breaking had always been an accident. The boy didn't seem the malicious type, either: small, slight and downcast. She took a deep breath. There were protocols for dealing with child offenders; she just had to follow them. "Hello Harry, I am officer Linda Parker. I'm here to talk to you because - "

"I'm a freak?" The boy asked, his harsh, cold tone at odds with both his face and his age.

Linda blinked. That...wasn't what she was expecting. "I'm sorry?"

"I'm a freak." The boy repeated, his tone still angry and resolute. "My aunt and uncle always say that. Bad things happen because of my freakishness. Everyone says so. I'm always in trouble for it and no one ever cares."

Linda made a mental note to interrogate the boy's guardians afterwards. Calling a young boy a freak? That was not a good sign, he could be making it up but he sounded so raw and angry. She said calmly, "No, that's not what I was going to say. You understand you did something wrong? Your cousin could have been seriously injured when you knocked him off the roof."

"And they'll do what?" Harry challenged. "Toss me in my cupboard? Scream at me? I'm always in trouble. I'm always wrong. So I might as well be bad. At least I get something out of it then." He looked defiantly at her. "So send me away. Lock me up. It can't be worse than what I've already had to put up with for things I can't even control!" He scowled. "Dudley always hits me. It's time I hit him back."

In any other scenario Linda would have added 'disrespect to an authority figure' to the list of breaches Harry had committed, but the tone of it held her back. If this family was abusing him – and what Harry had just said was more than suspicious – she was going to throw _them _in jail. "Well, Harry, I'm going to talk to your aunt and uncle afterwards." She looked the boy up and down. "You're going to be moved to a temporary schooling place for other boys like you. You'll go there tomorrow, it won't be for long and it won't interrupt your schooling. Okay?"

Harry nodded, and Linda could have sworn he was smiling.

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Vernon blinked. The policewoman who had been talking to the freak had now turned towards him and looked serious. She approached him just as the ambulance holding Petunia, Dudley and John was getting ready to leave.

"Sir, may I have a moment of your time?" She asked, sounding like she was trying to hold her temper.

"Yes ma'am?" He asked.

"I was just speaking to Harry, and he's said some things that have left me a little concerned." The policewoman, Parker, said.

"What kind of things?" Vernon asked with a sinking feeling in his stomach.

"Well, according to him, you call him freak instead of Harry, you punish him for things he hasn't done, he sleeps in a cupboard, and Dudley attacks him." Parker responded.

"He-He's exaggerating!" Vernon said, praying the woman couldn't see his hands shaking or the sweat starting to pour down his forehead. "The b-Harry has always been a troublemaker but he hates being punished, so he tries to make us look bad."

The Parker woman's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "May I see his room, then?" She asked in a tone that said, 'asking is a formality, refuse and I'll order you.'

Vernon's mind raced; he had to find a way to satisfy this woman. "O-Of course! This way please," He said, leading her up the stairwell.

With a burst of thought, he took her into Dudley's second bedroom. It had toys there and looked like a young boy's room. He turned and opened the door.

Officer Parker looked around the room, frowning. There were plenty of toys in here, but it looked unused. Maybe she was imagining it, but she was going to give these people the benefit of the doubt for now. She'd come back later. "I see. Thank you Mr. Dursley, I'll be here tomorrow at 9:00 to pick up your nephew." She turned and left the house.

As soon as he was sure she was gone Vernon sagged against the doorframe in relief. That had been a close one. Once the freak got back from the correctional facility he'd have to move him to Dudley's second bedroom...the woman was clearly suspicious and would probably come back. He'd tell Petunia about the switch as soon as possible.

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Harry stared out the broken window frame at the Dursley's house from Figg's place. Vernon had gone off to see Dudley at the hospital and that left him stuck here. He stared at the screens that had been put over the broken windows and he smiled.

He waited until Figg was asleep, grabbed a leather bag and went back to the house that was his prison. He took a kitchen knife and pried one of the screens open. He pushed past it and climbed into the house.

Harry walked up the stairwell towards Aunt Petunia's room. He figured that if he could grab some of her jewelry he could sell it and buy himself some decent clothes and a new pair of glasses. The drawer wasn't hard to find. He grabbed some golden necklaces and a handful of earrings and went back to outside.

It took some walking about, but he found a man named Ryan DeSantos, who traded things for money or favours. Harry had heard of him from one of Dudley's friends.

"Hey kid," Ryan grinned at the small boy, he had heard Petunia yelling at this poor kid many times he had passed her house, he had figured it was only a matter of time before he turned to criminal activity to get away from it. "Got something for me?"

"Yessir." Harry responded, opening the bag with Petunia's jewlery. Ryan's grin widened and he reached into his pockets for the appropriate amount of money.

"Good luck kid. Some advice for you – try not to get caught too many times, or they'll transfer you to an adult system."

"Thanks. I'll remember that."

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Eventually Harry opted to buy himself some books after deciding to show up for the police as his usual ragged self, no one had cared before so why would they care now? The policewoman from yesterday had sighed when she saw his glasses and clothes and declared that she'd have to replace them when they got to Juvie. Harry just shrugged and entered the police vheicle.

It took an hour but they eventually reached their destination. Harry stared up at Juvenile Hall, eyes wide. It was a cold iron building that looked as forbidding as a haunted house, with bars on the windows and grey paint. Linda stepped out of the car and held out her hand expectantly. Harry accepted it in silence and let her pull him past the doors.

"Potter, Harry?" The receptionist asked. Harry nodded and watched as she handed him a grey outfit with a prison number written on it. It was better than anything Vernon had gotten him, and that made him smile. "Now, there aren't many offenders in this area, so the girls and boys are in the same room together. You'll get regular meals but no deserts. Your teachers and warden will explain more when you go inside." She indicated the door to the right.

Linda shuffled Harry through the door and closed it behind him.

Harry took a deep breath and looked around the room. There was a long table in the middle where the other inmates were already eating lunch. He counted at least thirty two in total.

He took a nervous breath and walked over to the edge of the table, the only seat being next to an intimidating blonde girl who looked about a year older than him.

The girl looked up and raised an eyebrow. She had the bluest eyes Harry had ever seen, but there was barely any warmth in them. "You can sit down. I don't bite."

"Yeah, right." The boy across from her muttered. "You might not bite but your punch _so _makes up for it."

The blonde skewered him with a glare, and Harry, despite his nervousness, found himself stifling a giggle. He sat down next to the girl and started eating, causing one of the other boys to look at him in awe.

"You don't look like a troublemaker." The boy said, looking over Harry critically. "In fact, you look like a breeze will carry you away."

"Get stuffed, Pierce. We can't help what we look like." The blonde retorted. She turned to Harry and frowned. "You do look thin, though. Eat up. You don't want to be weak around here." She glanced further up the table where several of the older boys and girls were looking at Harry as though he were their next meal.

Harry nodded obediently and dug into the rice and peas on his plate. They were dry but they were better than any food he'd eaten in a month. Pierce exchanged a shocked look with the girl sitting next to him. No one ate prison food _that _willingly.

"What's your name, kid?" The intimidating girl asked.

"Freak." Harry responded without thinking. When her eyes widened, he caught his mistake. "I mean, it's Harry. Harry James Potter." He said the last bit happily. He had written it on the inside of his door to ensure that he had a link to his mysterious parents, even as weak as his name.

"Why...?" Pierce started asking warily, before trailing off as though guessing the answer before Harry could answer.

"If we're going with middle names, then I'm Carrie Anna Fawkes." The intimidating blonde girl told him. "Welcome to jail."

"I'm Pierce Daniel Collins." Pierce offered. "Please, no James Bond jokes. And this is my twin sister, Miranda Collins."

Harry looked curiously at Pierce. "Nice to meet you...who's James Bond?"

Pierce looked aghast. "You're British, and you've never heard of James Bond? Treachery! High Treason!"

"Don't be such a drama king." Carrie rolled her eyes. "He's a fictional spy, Harry. And a damn good one at that."

"Oh," Harry said, feeling a little stupid.

Miranda, with identical brown hair and brown eyes to her brother, asked, "Why did you say your name was freak?"

"'Cuz my cousin and my aunt 'n uncle always call me that." Harry mumbled, not looking at any of them. "They don't like me."

Miranda curled her lip. "And it just goes to show what the justice system of the world is like that you're in jail instead of them."

"Don't say that in earshot of the warden." Pierce muttered. "You'll be running laps around the parking lot until your legs fall off."

Carrie snorted. "Some things are just fundamentally stacked against you. Want a piece of advice Harry? Never trust anyone over 25 years old. They have very different priorities, and you're always going to suffer for them."

"You think so?" Harry asked carefully. Pierce said Carrie's punches hurt a lot, and she looked like solid muscle.

Carrie snorted. "I'm speaking from personal experience, kid. They're not going to care until its their ass on the line, and even then their attempts to change anything are pathetic and hollow."

Harry looked curiously. "Why are you here?" He asked.

Carrie tossed her blonde hair and smirked down at Harry; she was a good head taller than him. "I trashed my dad's pickup truck." She said with a smirk. "On purpose. I also get into fights...a lot. I have a temper on me." She scowled. "A few years with my family and you'll have one too."

"I knocked a boy unconscious with a chair at school." Pierce offered. "But he was a bully, and a mean one at that."

"I'm a kleptomaniac, and our parents won't get me looked at." Miranda said flatly, an undercurrent of fierce anger in her words.

"Kleptomani?" Harry asked, tripping over the big word.

"It means I steal. I steal and I steal and I steal and I can't seem to resist the urge or stop doing it, no matter how much trouble I get into." Miranda explained. "It's when you feel compelled to take things, not for personal gain but for reasons you can't explain."

"Oh." Harry thought about that. "I knocked my cousin and his friend off the roof of our house. They were chasing me and they were going to attack me. They at least broke their wrists when they hit the ground," He added, hoping to impress his new cellmates.

Carrie smirked and roughly ran her fingers through his messy hair. "Cool. I think you'll do fine here. Do you know how long you'll be here?"

"A few weeks, I think?" Harry responded, trying to remember what the receptionist had said.

"Great! We'll make a hell-raiser out of you yet." Pierce said happily.

"Attention!" A new voice barked.

Carrie, Pierce and Miranda immediately sprang to their feet. Harry look at them in confusion before Carrie roughly grabbed his arm and yanked him up too. After a second Harry saw what had them on edge; the warden had appeared.

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After a week in correctional facility, Harry wondered if there was something wrong with him. You weren't supposed to enjoy being in jail, after all.

He had Carrie, Pierce and Miranda, who took care of him and protected him from the older boys. Carrie had been right to warn him about the older delinquents. The leader, a huge boy named Mark, had immediately singled Harry out due to his small size and meeker nature and started going after him.

Harry had fully expected to suffer but Carrie and the others had protected him. Pierce had been right to be afraid of Carrie's punch; she hit Mark hard enough to send him sprawling and spitting out two teeth. Pierce and Miranda had dealt with Mark's three thugs and sent them packing.

Carrie had rubbed the bruise on her arm that Mark had given her and waved off Harry's frantic apologies. "Some times you have to defend yourself, kid." She had said. "It can't be helped. Never be afraid to defend yourself."

"Why'd you help me?" Harry asked back, staring up at the three older kids.

"Because we wanted to," Pierce had said, at the same time Miranda had said, "because we like you."

Harry couldn't help it; he started to cry. When a bewildered Carrie knelt down and hugged him and asked what was wrong, Harry had told her, "No one liked me before this. I'm just happy I have friends."

Later that night, Harry overheard Carrie and Miranda talking about making the Dursley's life hell the minute they got back out of Juvie.

After that, Harry started to thrive. The teachers at the facility enjoyed working with him because he was so focused whenever he was given assignments. The food they gave him helped as well; after a little he started to fill out from the healthy meals he was getting.

He talked to the inmates a lot. He told them about Harry Hunting and about all the chores he had to do. He admitted they were the first people he could remember saying they liked him, and knowing he could believe them.

Carrie taught him how to fight after she heard about Harry Hunting. It was gruelling, but Harry was a fast learner. Carrie told him about the weak spots on a human body and how to fight someone bigger and stronger than you. "Put all your weight into the blows. Don't attack from the front, they'll waste you. Go for the legs or the nose. Hit the nose hard enough and you could knock them out."

Harry had also spent time observing Miranda's kleptomania in action, and after a little he started emulating her, hiding the stuff he'd stolen from Mark and the Kitchens under his pillow and in his suitcase. He got better at it as the days went on, and the laps he was forced to run whenever a supervisor or the Warden caught him helped to strengthen his legs.

Pierce taught him to read and write in his spare time. He had snuck Harry a copy of Les Miserables, since the number of words would make it a good exercise. Harry would spend hours reading it and would talk to his friends about the characters. Harry was a fast learner; one of the teachers complained that he could easily skip a grade if he felt the inclination.

And it was here that Harry began to feel his 'freakishness' coming closer to the surface. Mark's desk caught fire when he insulted Carrie in class. The plumbing erupted when the older boys tried to give Pierce a swirly, knocking them across the room. The door to the roof slammed shut and locked Darla out when she tried to attack Miranda.

It went on and on. Mark started avoiding Harry like he had the plague; he didn't have to be a genius to figure out that Harry was somehow causing these things and was afraid that Harry would make him disappear. One day, when Mark screamed when seeing Harry turn the corner, the boy felt himself smile. Being bad felt nice.

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"You know, most people aren't depressed when their stay in Juvie is over," Carrie remarked dryly when she saw Harry moping in his room.

"But I like you guys," Harry mumbled. "And this is where you are."

Carrie laughed and ruffled Harry's hair. He had only managed to make her laugh a few times, and each time was like music. "Hey, I only have another week here before I go out too. Pierce and Miranda leave in two days. You know where we live and we'll stay in contact with you."

Harry managed to smile. Carrie looked seriously at him, "Now, remember everything we've taught you. Don't let that fat whale hit you anymore."

"I won't," Harry promised seriously. He hugged Carrie around the middle, and a moment later Officer Parker entered the room and gestured for him to come.

Dudley watched his freak cousin stroll back up to the house, smiling. His wrist still stung from when the freak had knocked him off the roof. What did he have to be so cheerful about? He had just spent time in jail. That should have been horrible; taught him his place. He hoped the other inmates had beaten him up a lot.

Harry walked into the house, politely thanked Officer Parker and closed the door. He turned to Vernon and Petunia and smirked. "I'm back," he proclaimed airily. He dropped his bag and walked over to his cupboard. "That was amazing! I went to this big grey place, and there I met Carrie and Pierce and Miranda and they like me! They've taught me to do all kinds of things and they protected me from the older guys who would have hit me. Also, Miranda likes to call me 'Wizard' because somehow bad things happen to people who don't like me or them. I don't know if I'm magical or not but I think I understand those 'freaky' things that make you so mad, I think I'll do them less often now! And that'll be good, right?"

Vernon and Petunia both gaped at their nephew. He didn't sound cowed, he sounded positively jubilant. Obviously this Juvie had been lenient on its prisoners; he also looked reasonably well-fed and fit. There were no bruises visible on his arms or legs.

Petunia was terrified that this Miranda freak called Harry a wizard; if the boy found out what he really was who knew how he'd make use of that information.

"W-Well, Harry, we've decided that now that you've served your punishment...and you've turned six, it would be time to move you upstairs." She started.

Harry turned around, eyebrows raised. "U-Upstairs? You mean I get a room now?" He asked.

"Y-Yes, of course," Vernon said, as though the words pained him. "P-Pet, how about you show him his new room?"

Harry looked around the room. It was Dudley's second bedroom. It was small and a little cramped. It was dull, too, but Harry could spruce it up. He'd been saving money, after all.

**Time Skip**

At eight years old, Harry had been sent back to Juvie four times. And that was because he had been caught. Officer Parker had become resigned to seeing him and they could both recite the lecture about misbehaving and running afoul with the law by heart at this point. She had warned him that having a criminal records wasn't something to be proud of.

Harry had just nodded and smiled at her before returning to his 'home', if you could call it that. He was grateful that Parker's appearance forced Vernon to put his energy into making sure she didn't know he was abusive, it made things much easier. Six years of abuse had come to roost in the house; Harry turned to crime to get happiness and pleasure where it was denied everywhere else.

Carrie, Pierce and Miranda kept their promise to stay in touch. It was like having three older siblings in everything but blood, especially Carrie. They would often meet up in the park; Harry spent little of his free time inside the house.

"So, how's school Harry?" Pierce had asked, handing him a bottle of chocolate milk. Harry sat back on the bench. His hair and grown out since his first stay in Juvie; it was long and fell past his shoulder. Miranda would often tease him for being 'bishonen'.

"Good. Ruby threw a fit when she realized that her cellphone was missing, and my teachers have started noticing that it's Dudley who's misbehaving, well except Miss Cope." Harry said. "Too bad she spends too much time yelling at me than watching her desk."

Miranda rolled her eyes. "You're insatiable, Harry."

Harry grinned. "Also, I spiced the food I was supposed to serve the bridge club...a lot. Check this out." He reached behind his back and revealed Little Whining's newspaper, open to the parenting column. "An article in a newspaper denouncing me as 'a symbol of the lack of respect, honesty and good value in children these days'. Written by Petunia's gossip buddy, Olive."

"You couldn't buy that kind of publicity." Pierce said disbelievingly.

"Couldn't buy it?" Harry asked innocently. He pulled three cellphones out of his pockets, one gold, one red, and one green. "I guess I get to keep these then."

Carrie stared for a second and laughed, taking the gold cellphone from Harry. "Don't push your luck, trouble." She said fondly.

Dudley never seemed to learn, no matter how many times Harry knocked him out and Carrie tossed his friends around like ragdolls when she saw them chasing Harry. They supposed stupidity was a generic trait in the Dursley house. He would wail and scream and shriek like there was no tomorrow, but at last, aside from being confined to his room and denied dinner Vernon couldn't strike or burn Harry unless he was absolutely sure Officer Parker wouldn't be able to see it.

Cooking meals was one thing Harry had come to like doing, though he'd rather die than admit it. So he kept cooking for the Dursleys, though sometimes he would deliberately go overboard and leave then running for the sink.

Petunia eventually stopped forcing him to weed the garden after her plants started withering and dying. The rose bush had disappeared entirely. Petunia was distraught over this, while Harry had merely shrugged and said that he didn't understand plants, how about she do something about it?

Harry knew that his relatives would never buy him things, so he stole to buy what he wanted. Aside from the cellphones that he had enchanted for his friends, he bought himself books and whatever toy amused him he also bought clear contacts so he wouldn't have to worry about loosing his glasses when dealing with 'Harry Hunting' or the Warden.

He had become an excellent pickpocket and liar. He got it from Miranda. Harry could smile in someone's face while pulling something out of their bag. He used the money he got primarily to train at the gym near Carrie's house.

Harry was used to getting by alone and without support at this point.

**Time Skip**

When he turned ten, Harry had been planning for Aunt Marge's visit for a while now. This was probably going to get him sent back to Juvie...again...but hey, Carrie and Miranda were going to be there!

Harry had walked through the house, preparing the meals and being careful not to look either his aunt or uncle in the eye, because he was fairly sure he'd crack up if he did. He had greeted Marge politely when she'd entered the house, smirking a bit when she looked at his healthy, well-built form in shock. He'd set the table and cleared the living room. And then he set off his first trap.

He rushed up the stairs and onto the roof, listening to Ripper's barking growing louder and louder. Pierce was right, the paintball gun had been a brilliant idea.

Climbing onto the roof, Harry turned and saw Ripper rush onto the roof. Smirking wickedly, Harry turned, ran and jumped onto Olive's roof. Ripper rushed after him, jumped, fell short and promptly dropped two stories. The vicious dog lay whimpering on the ground. _Didn't kill it, _Harry thought with some disappointment. He had no ill will against dogs – quite the opposite, in fact – but this one was cruel and yet another symbol of how much the Dursley's hated and mistreated him.

Eventually, Marge stumbled out of the house, soaked in orange paint, screaming, "THIEF! RAT! SOMEONE GET THAT BOY! EVIL! RAT!"

Harry smiled innocently at an exasperated Officer Parker who appeared at the house twenty minutes later.

**Time Skip**

"Dudley, get the post."

"Make Harry get it."

"Boy, get the post."

"Make Dudley get it," An eleven-year-old Harry said absently, still cooking the bacon. Parker hadn't been kidding when she had said a year in Juvie would wear on anyone. Carrie and Miranda got released early for reasons Harry hadn't caught, leaving him sulking there for three months before his sentence ended. They had kept calling him, but it was lonely in there without them.

"BOY!" Vernon shouted.

"Fine, fine. But don't blame me if your bacon burns," Harry warned, irritated. He set down his cooking untensils and walked to the door, sighing and wishing there was someone else out there who could do what he could. Carrie figured there were other people like him out there, but they weren't in Surrey. No, there was nothing wrong with Surrey, it was perfectly ordinary, with perfectly uniformed houses and perfectly normal residence, and he hated all of it. It was so irritating. He couldn't wait until college rolled around, if only so he could take residence and leave this hateful house and everyone in it...

Harry picked up the mail and stared at it. It was a letter addressed to him. To him. He never got mail; Carrie, Pierce and Miranda always called him on their phones and no one else cared about him. Wouldn't be Parker, either, she didn't send letters.

_To Harry James Potter_

_Number 4, Privet Drive, Little Whining_

There was a crest on it. It looked like a school emblem.

Harry was about to rip it open and read it when Vernon marched over, saw the letter, and went from red to green faster than a traffic light. He snatched the letter and shouted, "It's nothing! Nothing at all!"

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Harry was very annoyed with his uncle Vernon right now. He couldn't imagine why a simple letter addressed to him would drive Vernon to drag them out to a _shack _in the middle of the _ocean. _It was absolutely ridiculous. Carrie had called him about it and decided there was something big Vernon didn't want him to know.

She was probably right.

Of course, he was sleeping on the floor because Dudley always got the bed. Sighing, he turned to the floor and began to draw a cake on it. If they'd at least stayed in a populated area he could have bought himself a few donuts to celebrate his birthday with, but no.

Thunder crashed outside and rain hammered down on the shack. Harry sighed heavily again and muttered, "Make a wish, Harry." He then blew over the drawing, fading it.

Suddenly, there was a massive crash, like someone trying to get in.

Harry sprang to his feet in an instant. Vernon came down the stairs with a shotgun, Petunia right behind him. Dudley looked around fearfully. "Where's the cannon?" He asked. Harry frowned. It didn't sound like a canon. It sounded like a person. There was a second crash, and he corrected himself, a very _big _person.

"I'm warning you! I'm armed!" Vernon shouted at the door. There was a momentary pause, and then a great crash and the door came right off its hinges. A huge man stood in the doorway – bigger than anyone Harry had ever seen. He had shaggy dark hair and was wearing a huge coat. He had an umbrella in one hand.

"Sorry 'bout that." He said. He turned around and set the door back in place.

Harry stared blankly at the huge figure as he walked into the house and said, "Couldn't make a cup o' tea, could yeh? It's not been an easy journey…" He walked over to where Dudley was and said, "Budge, you great lump." Dudley immediately ran to hide behind his mother, who in turn was hiding behind Vernon.

The giant turned to Harry, who was standing by the firepit, tensed and ready to run incase things went south. "An' here's Harry! Las' time I saw you, you was only a baby. Yeh look a lot like yeh dad, buy yeh've got yer mum's eyes."

"What?" Harry blurted out, momentarily forgetting himself. He had never met anyone who knew his parents. "I mean, I'm sorry?"

"I demand that you leave at once, sir!" Uncle Vernon demanded, making a funny rasping noise. "You are breaking and entering!"

Hagrid walked up to Dursley and eyed the shotgun disdainfully, "Ah, dry up Dursley, yeh great prune." And with that, he effortlessly bent the barrel of the shotgun upwards, twisting it out of shape.

Harry watched the scene in front of him in disbelief, though some part of him was crowing at seeing Vernon so terrified.

"Uh, sir?" He tried again. "Who are you, and how do you know my parents?"

The giant look surprised. "'Course, f'rgot to introduce meself. Ruebeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts. I knew your parents when they were students there!" He handed Harry a small box. Harry-a very happy birthday to yeh. Got summat fer yeh here-I mighta sat on it at some point, but it'll taste all right." He opened the box to reveal a cake that said 'Happy Birthday Harry' written on it in green icing.

Harry was stunned. There was too much going on at once and he didn't know where to start. "Um – thank you. Thank you." He managed, sitting down and helping himself to the cake.

"What about that tea then, eh? I'd not say no ter summat strong if yeh've got it, mind."

"I'm sorry, we left in rather a hurry, so we don't have anything to drink," Harry said slowly.

"S'alright, I've got summat here." Hagrid said, turning towards the fireplace and then back once he got a roaring fire going. He then proceeded to pull a good dozen or so things out of his coat pockets.

Uncle Vernon said sharply, "Don't touch anything he gives you, Dudley."

Hagrid chuckled darkly. "Yer great puddin' of a son don' need fattenin' any more, Dursley, don' worry."

At that, Harry did smile. He was starting to like this strange giant person. It couldn't hurt him to ask a few questions.

"You said my parents went to this Hogwarts place," Harry said, "What exactly is that?"

Hagrid looked at Harry in absolute shock. "You don't know about Hogwarts? Why, didn't you wonder where yer parents learned it all?"

"Learned what?" Harry asked, though a sneaking suspicion had sunk in. "Does this have anything to do with the weird things that always happen to me?"

"Now wait jus' one second!" Hagrid thundered, leaping to his feet. In his anger he seemed to fill the whole hut. The Dursleys cowered against the wall. "Do you mean ter tell me," he growled at the Dursleys, "that you told this boy - this boy - nothin' abou' - about ANYTHING?"

Now, Harry felt that was going a little far. He didn't get the best grades, but he wasn't an idiot. "I know lots of things," he protested, "I'm good at math and English and Science."

But Hagrid waved a hand and said seriously, "About _our _world, I meant. _Your _world. _My _world. _Your parents _world."

"World?" Miranda's laugh and cry of 'go, wizard!' echoed in his mind. "You mean – am I – are you trying to say I'm a _wizard?_"

Hagrid looked like he was going to explode. "DURSLEY!" He boomed.

Uncle Vernon, who had gone very pale, whispered something that sounded like 'Mimblewimble.' Hagrid stared wildly at Harry. "Of course you're a wizard, Harry! You're mother and father – they're famous in our world! _You're _famous."

"I – I _am_? For what?" Harry was bewildered. He had a fair bit of notoriety within his neighbourhood, but he could hardly imagine anything he did would have made him famous across a whole world.

"I'll tell yeh all about that, but I think you should read this first." Hagrid said. Petunia moaned, but Harry ignored her. He accepted the letter from Hagrid, which read,

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore_

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. Of Wizards)_

_Dear Mr. Potter_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have a place in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry._

It went on for a while, but all Harry cared about was the first line. He turned his ire on his guardians. "Is this why you didn't want me to have this?" He demanded, waving the letter over his head. "You knew, didn't you! You knew what I was! All those things – those _freakish _things you kept punishing me for – that was magic, wasn't it? Why would you do this to me?"

"PUNISHING YOU?" Hagrid roared, making Vernon stagger backwards. "Yeh've been _pushing _the poor boy for magic? ! He can't control it! No one can at his age!"

"Stop!" Vernon managed to find his voice at last. "We promised when we took him in we'd put a stop to this."

"Why?" Harry challenged. He turned his eyes to his aunt. "Is this why you never talked about my mother? Because she could use magic and you couldn't? I'm not a freak, then! I'm a wizard, like my parents."

"Freak?" Hagrid repeated in shock. "Freak? Is that what you've been calling him?"

Petunia squeaked. Harry wasn't done yet, "Yeah. I didn't know my name was Harry until I was four, I was used to being called freak, boy and stuff like that."

That did it for Hagrid. He roared again and pointed his umbrella at Dudley. A second later, a pig's tail sprung out from his behind, and he started oinking like a pig.

Harry laughed, he couldn't help it. He was a wizard. He was going to a wizarding school. Carrie would love to hear this.

**End Chapter**

**So what do you think? I wanted a story where Harry is a darker character but not going into 'evil death eater in love with voldemort' or 'doesn't care about innocent people suffering'. So I made him a chronic lawbreaker with a disrespect for authority, and I'll go from there. No, it is not Harry/OC, he and Carrie have a brother/sister relationship. Also the muggle OCs play a different role later.**

**Read and Review please!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Trouble**

**Wow. I'm surprised and humbled by the response this story has gotten! I'm glad you all like it so much. For your response I decided to complete the second chapter early. Here you go! I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 2: Getting Started and Making Enemies**

Harry was awake long before Hagrid, chatting on the phone outside with Carrie and Pierce. The reception was really, really crappy but he couldn't wait to tell them what had just happened and he wasn't sure if a cellphone would work in a magical community.

Miranda, for her part, was ecstatic. She triumphantly proclaimed that she had been right about Harry's abilities from the start and demanded he tell her about his school and the things they used as soon as possible. Carrie had wished him good luck and warned him to be careful who he stole from; he should scout out the people he was going to be around first. Pierce just asked him to learn how to fix things magically, so he could break his math teacher's irritating educational DVDs and not have to worry about paying for a new ones when he was eventually discovered.

He had just finished with his last phone call and headed inside when he was approached by an owl.

"Wants payment for the mail," Hagrid said sleepily. "Give 'im five knuts."

Harry dug around the massive coat and grabbed a handful of coins, a few gold, some silver, and some bronze. "Which?"

"They're bronze."

So this was what wizard currency looked like. Harry put the Knuts in the owl's pouch before discreetly pocketing the rest of the change. He wondered if he could exchange muggle money for wizard money. The gold coins could probably go for twice their amount in muggle money; after all gold was highly sought after. Would be easier than having to constantly go through the bridge club's bags for keychains, phones and bracelets when they were visiting his aunt.

Hagrid slowly got up and collected his coat. "Well, best be off then, Harry, lots ter do today. Gotta get up ter London an' buy all yer stuff for school,"

"How am I going to buy anything?" Harry asked. "I have some money, but it's muggle, and I'm not sure it would cover everything if I exchanged it -"

"Don't worry about that," Hagrid said, waving a hand. "D'yer think your mum and dad left you with n'thing? First place we're headed is Gringotts."

"Gringotts? Is that a bank?" Harry was relieved to hear this; he'd been worried that if wizards did things too differently from normal people, he'd have to spend a whole year reworking his skills to suit his new environment.

"Only one in Britain. Run by Goblins."

"Run by _Goblins?" _Harry echoed.

"Yeh. So Yeh'd be mad to try 'n rob it." Hagrid said. "Safest place in the world, 'cept maybe Hogwarts. As a matter 'o fact, I havta visit Gringotts anyway. Fer Dumbledore. Hogwarts buisness." The giant held himself up to full height when he said this.

Harry collected the backpack he carried everywhere and followed Hagrid outside. He didn't see another boat. "How'd you get here? Did you teleport or something?" He asked.

"Flew." Hagrid responded. He took in Harry's impressed look and said, "But 'm not supposed to use magic now that I've got you. We'll go back in this."

Harry felt slightly disappointed, but got into the boat nonetheless. The boat sped back towards land. "Why exactly is it mad to try and rob Gringotts?" Harry questioned.

"Spells – enchantments." Hagrid said, unfolding his newspaper. "They say there's dragons guarding the high security vaults. Then yeh havta find your way out – it's miles underground."

Harry continued to pester Hagrid with questions all the way back to land and through the streets. He learned about the Ministry of Magic and its current head, Cornelius Fudge. He heard about wands and robes and the courses he'd learn at Hogwarts – Defence Against the Dark Arts, Potions, Charms, Transfiguration.

Harry went over the list of things he would need for school. It was a novelty to not have to steal half of them – he'd almost forgotten what that was like. He was debating whether or not to get an owl or a cat when he and Hagrid reached the Leaky Cauldron.

It was a pub much like the one Carrie's troubled older brothers usually went to buy alcohol, The World's Ending. It didn't look to be in much better condition either, though to its credit its occupants looked a lot less unscrupulous.

Everyone seemed to know Hagrid; the bartender asked if he wanted the usual. "Not today Tom, on Hogwarts business." Hagrid slapped his knee and put a massive hand on Harry's shoulder. Harry was busy looking around, trying to see if there was a back door to this place that he could use to sneak into it at a later date.

The barman peered down at Harry and said, "Bless my soul – is that Harry Potter?"

As if on cue, every conversation in the pub suddenly went dead. Harry turned to see everyone staring at him, or more specifically, his forehead. A second later, he was immediately assaulted by dozens of people babbling, bowing to him and shaking his hand.

"Welcome back, Harry Potter, welcome back!"

"Doris Crockford, Mr. Potter, can't believe I'm finally meeting you."

"So proud of what you did, Mr Potter."

"Delighted, Mr. Potter, can't tell you how delighted!"

This was insane. How on earth was he going to keep a low profile with this kind of treatment? It was hard to do much of anything when this many people were watching you. Harry had an ingrained dislike of large crowds due to most of his exposure with them being either Dudley's gang, the bridge club or Juvenile Hall, the correctional facility being the kindest of the three. Why on earth were people reacting this way?

On the other hand...Harry felt himself smirk ever so slightly. People who had this kind of blind adoration behind them could get away with anything. He knew that from personal experience, after all, his cousin was a perfect example of that.

He met his Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher here, and honestly Harry was kind of disappointed. He was expecting someone who taught _that _course to be an adult, magical version of Carrie – not a stutterer who jumped when tapped on the shoulder.

It took Hagrid a while to finally get Harry out of the Leaky Cauldron. "What was all that about?" Harry asked. "I know you said I was famous, but that was crazy – what could I have done to have people bowing at me?"

Hagrid grimaced. "Well – 'member when I told you that your mum and dad were famous too? It's because when yer were born, a wizard gone bad went after yer parents."

"Wizard gone bad..." Harry muttered. He didn't like the sound of that. "How bad?"

"Oh, he wanted to rule Britain. He'd got it in 'is head that only a certain type of wizard should be allowed to practice magic...got 'imself some followers, some 'ere scared o' him, other wanted a bit o' his power, 'cause he was gettn' it for himself, all right. Dark days, those were, Harry..."

"Then mum and dad...they tried to stop him?" Harry could guess from the tone exactly where this was going. He'd read in history books about Germans who had attempted to resist the Nazi movement, and it had rarely ended well for them.

"Y-Yes," Hagrid said, swallowing. "Yer mum and dad – nicer people there weren't. He 'ent to their house for sum reason, maybe to get them to join, but in the end he killed 'em."

Harry stopped walking and turned that thought over in his head. For so long he had believed that his parents had died because of drunk driving – and now he learned that they died protecting him from someone who wanted to kill them. Harry wasn't sure if this was better or worse.

"'Ere's the strange bit, though. He tried to kill you too – to make a clean job, pr'baby. But – somehow, no'ne knows how, you survived. And he died that day. That's why you're famous. That's 'ere you got that scar"

Harry's hand immediately went to the lightning-bolt shaped scar on his forehead. "I see." He said quietly. "What was this wizard's name?"

Hagrid gulped. "Hard to say – people are still scared – all right, _Voldemort_." He shuddered. "No one uses his name these days. Still call him You-Know-Who."

Voldemort. So he hadn't lost his parents – they'd been taken from him. Knowing this somehow made the last ten years feel so much worse.

%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&&%

Harry stared up at the Gringotts building, specifically at the sign on it.

_Enter stranger, but take heed_

_of what awaits the sin of greed_

_for those who take, but do not earn_

_must pay most dearly in their turn_

_so if you seek beneath our floors_

_a treasure that was never yours_

_thief, you've been warned, beware_

_of finding more than treasure there_

At this point, Harry made a mental note that if he ever had to rob a bank, he was going to stick to the muggle ones.

He walked in with Hagrid and looked around. There were goblins everywhere, counting and weighing the wizard coins. They were smaller than him, but looked very nasty; he didn't want to be on the bad side of one of those.

He'd been distracted but a comment from Hagrid brought him back.

"It's about You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen."

If Harry had been a cat, his ears would have swivelled towards Hagrid in uttermost interest. You-Know-What? What was Hagrid looking for?

If he felt the need to move it from here – supposedly the safest place in Britain – it must be something extremely important, but why on earth would a school headmaster take a highly sought after object into a, for all intents and purposes, boarding school? For that matter, how could a school headmaster have that kind of power?

What could this thing do, and how much would it be worth?

Perhaps he could snatch it later, get a look at it. Would be easy to get it off his guide.

A minute later, Harry stepped into his vault and stared. There were stacks of gold and silver coins bigger than him, with heaps of bronze scattered everywhere. If the Dursleys had known about this place, they never would have called him a burden; they'd be begging him to share with them. He got out his backpack and packed more coins than Hagrid seemed to think necessary, but it never hurt to be prepared.

They went down to the super-secret vault, and Griphook said something that re-affirmed Harry's new 'never steal from goblins' policy. "Go in there and you'll be trapped – and we only check once every ten years." He bared his teeth when he said this.

_Definitely stick to muggle banks._

The vault was empty except for a single package sitting in the middle of the table. Hagrid picked it up and Harry watched which pocket he put it in. One rickety ride back to the surface and Harry stuck right behind Hagrid, holding onto his arm as though he were rather younger than he was.

"Whatsammater, Harry?" Hagrid asked in concern.

"It's just overwhelming," Harry mumbled. That much was true, at least partially. "There's so much to look at. I...it's just a little frightening. I don't understand very much."

"Ya will in time, Harry, don't you worry 'bout it." Harry pattered him on the head, "Now, let's go get you your wand."

When he started to walk again, Harry carefully slid a hand into the front pocket, pulled out the package, stowed it in the still-open compartment of his backpack, and zipped it up the rest of the way.

%&%&%&%&%&%&%%&%&%%&

Harry kept toying with his wand as he walked away from the wand shop, thinking about what Ollivander had said. He didn't really like having only one wand – Dudley was liable to snap it if he ever got the chance. He had been tempted to snatch another one but the way they were boxed hampered him, so he had to leave with one.

He was getting a headache from trying to memorize the streets and different directions they'd walked in. One of Miranda's cardinal rules was always know your way around a place before you do anything.

Next was robes. Harry had resisted the urge to groan; robes trailed near your feet and increased the likelyhood of tripping. Jeans would have been much more practical, in his opinion.

"Hogwarts too, young man?" The lady asked him. "Many have been coming in – stand here," She indicated a place next to an angular, blonde boy who was also getting fitted.

Harry looked at the fabric for the robes. It wasn't that bad he'd been afraid of, actually.

"Hullo," The blonde said, "Hogwarts too?"

"Yeah," Harry said, "Bit overwhelming – I've been stuck with my aunt and uncle for my entire life, and I've basically spent today playing catchup. It's incredibly irritating."

"Muggles?" The blonde echoed in his drawl voice, "You're a muggleborn then?"

"A what?" Harry echoed.

"Muggleborn. Means you don't have wizarding parents." The blonde explained, his head tilted back slightly in a gesture of superiority. Harry had seen that look before, and it never boded well. "_My _parents are both from respectable, ancient wizarding lines."

"My mum and dad were both wizards," Harry said.

"Were they purebloods?"

"I...don't know. Aunt Petunia never talked to me about my mother and father." Harry was starting to feel a little agitated. "It matters?"

"Of course it matters! Only people with two wizarding parents will be able to make great achievements." The blonde said. "We're of noble breed. You probably are too, if both your parents are wizards."

Harry wondered, if wizards knew anything about muggle history, if this boy was aware of how much he sounded like a junior Neo-Nazi.

"Which house do you think you'll be in?" the boy asked with that same pompous drawl. "I'm going to be in Slytherin, I'm sure of it, my whole family has been there."

Harry thought about what little Hagrid had told him about the four houses inside Hogwarts. "My best guess is either Gryffindor or Slytherin."

"Head for Slytherin. It only accepts the best. I really don't think they should let the other sort in. Most of them hadn't even heard of Hogwarts before they got their letter. What's your surname anyway?"

"No! I'm not going to talk to him!" An angry girl's voice startled both of them. Harry and the blonde boy both turned their heads to the right. At the door of the shop were two adults and two young girls, one their age and the other slightly younger, who was glaring daggers at the blonde boy. They were both blonde-haired and green-eyed, though the younger girl's angry expression distracted from her otherwise pretty features.

"Astoria, for Merlin's sake!" The father whispered in an unhappy tone, "He's your intended. You should get to know him better."

"Get to know him? I already know all I need to – he's a horrible, stuck up snob!" The blonde girl snapped, yanking her arm away from her father. "And I never, ever _ever _want to marry him!"

"Sweetie, the discussions have already occurred," The woman said in a pained tone. "He's born to an old, powerful family. It would be the best for you! Show him some respect."

"I give respect to people who earn it." Astoria said highhandedly, turning to glare up at her parents. Her sister looked aghast at her behaviour, frantically looking around for some way to change the subject. Her green eyes fell on Harry, shot to his forehead, and she yanked on her father's sleeve.

"Father, father, look. Isn't that Harry Potter?"

All four family members stopped what they were doing and looked at Harry, who was now feeling very put on the spot.

"It is," Her father murmured, starting to walk towards him. He looked past him, saw the blonde boy and said, "Hello Draco, fancy seeing you here."

"Hello Mr. Greengrass." The blonde boy, Draco, said politely, though he looked like he was trying to hide his annoyance at Astoria's not-so-quiet comments and at Harry.

Mr. Greengrass then turned his attention to Harry. "You must be Harry Potter." He took Harry's hand and shook it. "My name is Daniel Greengrass. Off to Hogwarts, aren't you? I'm on the Board of Governors."

"Y-Y-Yes, I am." Harry managed. He felt like he was stuck in Buckingham Palace when he really shouldn't be there, talking to people who would squash him socially and legally if they were malicious enough to do so.

"My two daughters have just made their societal debut." Daniel Greengrass said. "The older one, Daphne -" he gestured to Astoria's older sister, who hadn't stopped staring at Harry since she'd spotted his scar. "-will be in the same year as you. If there is anything you need to know, she'd be happy to fill you in."

"Uh – okay, thank you." Harry said, rooting around for the right words. Politeness and decorum really weren't up his alley, but judging by the man's clothing and attitude he was probably high class, and thus would care very much about it. "I-I'll keep an eye out for her." He nodded at Daphne and gave her the lopsided smirk he was famous for. Daphne's cheeks flushed and her eyes immediately dropped to the floor. Astoria was scowling even more fiercely than when she had spotted Draco.

Speaking of whom, Harry shot the blonde a quick glance and saw the other boy glaring at him, all pretences of friendliness dropped.

Mercifully, Madam Malkin broke in and said, "you're all done, dear."

Relieved to escape the shop and calm his burgeoning blood pressure, Harry stepped off the stool and bowed to Mr. Greengass and his family. "I-I'm sorry I have to take off, but I'm running out of time and I need to get the rest of my school stuff." He said rapidly. "Nice to meet you, sir and ma'am. And Daphne and Astoria." He bowed again and left the shop in a dead sprint.

Astoria watched Harry Potter leave and resisted the urge to glare at her older sister, who was still blushing like crazy.

Her father looked extremely pleased with himself; he was probably planning to get in early, try and marry Daphne to Potter before the other pureblood families got wind of his return and started trying the same thing.

That smirk! There was so much personality in that smirk! Astoria had learned from her mother how to understand someone just by looking at their eyes; she could see the devil-may-care spirit that he was hiding for the sake of politeness. There was a life in Harry that Draco certainly didn't share. Astoria was willing to bet he was much cooler person than her betrothed.

Her scowl deepened and she wanted to stamp her foot at the injustice of it. It figured her older sister would get someone interesting to spend her life with while she got stuck with Draco Malfoy, an egoistical spoiled brat. It just wasn't fair!

%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&

Luckily for Harry, the rest of his trip passed without another unpleasant encounter. He collected his parchment, ink and quills and headed into the pet shop, doing his best to put both Draco and the Greengrass sisters out of his mind.

While he was in there, a little grey kitten caught his eye. She looked pleadingly at him. He pointed at her and asked, "How much for that one?"

The shopkeeper raised an eyebrow, "Dearie, you'd be better picking something else. That kitten is a troublemaker of the highest order."

"I'll pay top gallon for her then," Harry said brightly, pulling out his bag. The shopkeeper looked at him with a little disbelief but gave him the kitten's cage.

Harry smiled at the kitten and said, "Troublemaker, huh? That makes two of us, doesn't it?" He gave his new pet a mock serious look. "Don't rat me out ever, okay?" The kitten mewed and rubbed her head against the cage. "What would be a good name for you...better think on it for a little..."

**Time Skip**

Harry walked back into Privet Drive loaded down with his stuff for school. Dudley opened the door, saw him, screamed and ran further back into the house. Harry smirked, rolled his eyes and headed up to his room. He wasn't allowed to use magic outside of school, but Dudley didn't need to know that.

He shut the door and opened his kitten's cage. "I'll call you Maria." He whispered. "Welcome home." Maria bounced out and purred, rubbing against Harry's ankles.

Harry organized his trunk and then set down his backpack. He dug through the money and books and eventually pulled out the package from Gringotts.

Harry unwrapped it, and a large red stone dropped into his palm. It glimmered slightly in the light of his room.

"What is this?" Harry whispered. He lay back in his bed, turning it over in his hands. "Is it a ruby?" As quick as that thought came he dismissed it, "No way. Even a ruby as big as this wouldn't receive that level of security...but then, what is it? Some sort of artifact?"

He thought for another moment, and then said, "What do I know about this? Okay, it's a magical stone that Headmaster Dumbledore was going through great pains to see wasn't stolen. What kind of thing could..."

He trailed off. The only stone he knew of that was associated with magic was the Philosopher's stone. Was that what this was?

Harry got off his bed and walked over to his desk and his questionably-legally obtained desktop computer. He quickly booted it up and googled 'Philosopher's Stone'. Then he switched to 'Images'.

Sure enough, the images on the screen matched the item in his hand. He switched back to 'Web' and read the wiki article. And read it again.

"Bloody hell." Harry swore, staring at the innocuous-looking red stone. "I could get anything I wanted with this thing, if it could make gold out of nothing. Hell, I could use this thing to make the Dursley's do whatever I wanted! No wonder it was so high-security. It also makes you immortal? Crazy...I gotta tell Carrie about this..."

He paused and then laughed. "I just pulled off the greatest theft of my life and it was by far the easiest! Man, if the whole wizarding world is this easy, I'm going to have a _ball _this year."

Maria hopped up on his lap and mewed in agreement. Harry absently stroked her fur while looking at the legendary stone on his desk.

"I wonder..." Harry muttered, "does this have anything to do with that guy...the one who killed my parents? I return to the wizarding world for the first time, Headmaster Dumbledore asks the guy taking me shopping to bring him this precious stone, and I meet a bloodline elitist who will be at my school? This might be paranoia, but it's seems strange...the guy who killed my parents is dead now, Hagrid said, but he had followers...what happened to them?"

Maria licked his hand and stared up at him with wide yellow eyes. "You're right, Maria. I should talk to Carrie and the others about it tomorrow. In fact, I think it's time I invited them over."

**Time Skip**

Petunia looked like she had swallowed a wasp two days later when Harry's juvenile friends appeared on her doorstep after lunch. Carrie didn't say hello, she just said, "We're here to see Harry, he told you were we coming right?" Without waiting for an answer she pushed past his aunt and walked upstairs towards his room. Pierce and Miranda followed immediately, only Pierce deigning to be polite enough to acknowledge Petunia.

Carrie opened the door and looked in surprise as a grey kitten padded up to her and nuzzled her leg. "Hi, who are you?" She scooped the kitten up and looked at Harry. "You look cheerful."

"That's Maria, my familiar. Pierce, could you close the door? I've got a lot of stuff to tell you guys about."

Immediately, the three older kids sat down and Harry began showing them his wizarding things.

"You're rich!" Pierce said joyfully when Harry spilled some of his gallons and sickles onto the floor. "Filthy stinkin rich!" He suddenly looked hopefully at Harry. "I don't suppose you'd mind paying my college bills? You know, for being such a nice friend?"

Harry laughed, knowing his friend was at least half joking. "Come on, Pierce. I haven't even gotten to the good part yet." He removed the Philosopher Stone from the desk. "This, my dear friends, is a real, true-red Philosopher Stone."

"No." Miranda said disbelievingly. Pierce laughed for a moment before seeing Harry's expression and realizing he was completely serious. "That thing that creates the Elixir of Immortality? That can turn anything into gold?"

"Yes." Harry said smugly.

"How'd you get it?" She demanded.

"Swiped it from my guide's pocket." Harry chuckled. "It was ridiculously easy for something with that high security. He didn't suspect a thing!"

It was Miranda's turn to laugh; she lightly batted Harry around the head. "I'm so proud of how much you've learned from me!" She squeed.

Carrie hesitantly reached out and touched the smooth surface of the Stone. "Well, you'll never be short on cash, at least." She remarked.

"Yeah, the problem is I don't know what to do with it while I'm at school." Harry explained, "I don't feel like taking it with me – I get enough attention as it is. I'll be exposed fast."

"Enough attention?" Carrie enquired. More seriously, Harry explained the story of the Leaky Cauldron, the story of his parents and his encounter with the Draco and the Greengrass family.

Carrie sat up straighter and let out a resigned sigh. "Bigots are bigots, magical or not, I guess. You were bound to run into one sooner or later."

"That stuff about your parents...oh, that's terrible, Harry." Miranda said, eyes wide. Maria took this as a sign she needed comforting and jumped from Carrie's lap to hers. Miranda immediately started petting her. Harry had a feeling that the general intelligence of any given human dropped twenty percent when confronted with an adorable kitten. "At least the guy who did it is dead."

"So you're basically a celebrity?" Pierce theorized. "I have to admit, I don't envy you Harry, the life of a celebrity isn't as cracked up as it makes itself out to be."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." Harry said with a scowl. "My point is, I don't think I should bring this with me and I don't want Dudley finding it when I'm out." He then reached out and put the Stone in Carrie's hands. "You hold onto it, Carrie. If anyone needs gold, you do."

Carrie's eyes widened. "You...you're okay with that? You have a stone that makes gold – and you're just _giving _it to me?"

"For safekeeping." Harry said. "But seriously, use it to upgrade your house and pay off your brother's alcohol debts. You deserve better than that."

Carrie looked shocked, touched and thankful. She leaned over and kissed Harry on the forehead. "Thank you Harry."

"Now what's this about two girls? You'll be a regular ladies man; you haven't been in the wizarding world a day and you've already scored a pair of sisters!" Pierce added teasingly.

Flustered, Harry retorted. "That's not what happened! I just met them today! I'm not looking for a girlfriend, not yet! Older people do that!"

Miranda groaned. "We're you listening, Harry? 'My daughters just made their societal debut'. Before muggle women were allowed to pick who they married that was code for 'I'm interested in creating an alliance between our families by marrying you to my daughter."

"M-M-Marry? But...she's eleven! _I'm _eleven!" Harry protested, now beyond alarmed. "Hell, forget out ages, how exactly is he going to convince Uncle Vernon to let me marry another magic user? He hates me, but he's still my guardian, and I don't think he'll want a witch around here besides me."

"I suppose you could refuse. And if he finds out you have a criminal record there's a good chance he'll change his mind, especially if he's from high society. Most lords and ladies would die before associating with a criminal, let alone marrying one, unless they were sufficiently well-off and canny." Miranda said thoughtfully, "But if they read that as an insult that would make you enemies."

Harry groaned. "Oh, this is just great, I've met a bigot, heard about a mass-murderer and met a guy who wants me to marry his daughter and I haven't even gotten to school yet!"

"Speaking of the school, how exactly are you going to get there?" Miranda enquired.

"Oh – I have to go to King's Cross station..." Harry dug out his ticket and showed it to them. "Platform Nine and Three Quarters."

Miranda looked confused. "I'm pretty sure King's Cross doesn't have that platform."

"Maybe they do, we just can't see it." Carrie said. "That makes sense, it keeps the muggles away."

"Right." Harry stared at his ticket. "Could you guys get me there?"

"Sure. I'll 'borrow' dad's new car."

Harry tilted his head slightly, and Maria mewed again. "Going to crash this one too?"

"...Maybe."

**End Chapter**

**Read and Review please!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Trouble**

**Moon: Hi everyone. I want to say again that I'm shocked and happy about the response this story has gotten. Here's the next chapter and I hope you like it! Just for a note, I had everything up to chapter 3 already written before I started posting, so that's how I'm updating so fast. I'll probably have to slow down now that school's starting, but you can expect regular updates! I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 3: Going to Hogwarts**

The rest of the month before the first term at Hogwarts started was uneventful. The Dursleys were doing their best to pretend Harry didn't exist, and he decided to give Officer Parker a break by focusing on reading his magical textbooks instead of going out causing trouble. As he'd suspected, Ryan was delighted to get a few gold gallons, and he paid handsomely for it. Harry would bet that any pawn shop he went to would also be good for it.

Carrie used the stone to turn many of her coins gold, and used this to pay off her brother's drinking debts. They had been too pleased with this to ask where she'd gotten the money from.

At last, September came. Harry collected all his school stuff and walked out the door. To his surprise, Officer Parker was waiting there.

"I hear you're going to a boarding school." Parker said. Harry nodded. "Well, I need you to take this to the Headmaster. I'm afraid it's protocol to inform the school of your criminal record."

Harry nodded again and accepted the letter from her. "Yes ma'am. Have a good year." He waved and dragged his suitcase along behind him as he headed for Carrie's house, Maria's cage hanging in her other hand.

Parker watched the boy go and muttered, "this will either be the thing that straightens that boy out, or makes him worse than ever. I hope it's the first option," before heading back to her cruiser.

Carrie, Pierce and Miranda were all waiting outside Carrie's empty house with her father's shiny new car. Carrie sized Harry up before giving him a hug. "I have to admit, it's going to be damn boring around here without you, Trouble." She remarked. Carrie liked to pretend she didn't have positive emotions, so this was her way of saying, "I'm going to miss you while you're at school."

Miranda bobbled her head in agreement and hugged Harry next. Pierce just smiled vaguely and ruffled Harry's hair. "Come on, guys, I won't be gone forever. I promise, over the summer I'll show you around Diagon Alley." Harry said.

"Alright, let's get you to that train," Carrie said. Pierce took Harry's trunk and heaved it into the back of the car, Harry got into the back seat with Miranda, Maria's cage sitting on his legs. Pierce and Carrie got onto shotgun and driver's seat, respectively, before Carrie started the engine and headed towards London.

King's Cross was a big station, and it took a lot of wandering around to finally find Platforms Nine and Ten. Luckily, it was still a while before the train left.

"I don't see any other platforms around here," Pierce reported. "The other ones just go backwards from Eight. It's gotta be around here somewhere..."

Carrie's eyes narrowed when she spied a young redhead girl crying pitifully, following a group of other redheads who were probably related to her, dragging along trunks that looked just like Harry's. "Hey, let's follow those guys. I think they might be wizards."

Harry saw who she was looking at and nodded. They walked up to the group of redheads.

"Excuse me," Carrie asked the little girl as gently as she could. The girl turned and looked up at her and Harry, deep brown eyes wide. "We're looking for Platform Nine and Three Quarters, do you know where it is?"

The little girl sniffed sadly and nodded, pointing towards the wall between the signs nine and ten. "Yes, we do. My big brothers are all going this year and leaving me at home alone." She looked pleadingly at the woman in the group, who was probably her mother. The woman just shook her head gently and said 'next year, Ginny'.

"You're all attending Hogwarts?" The oldest redhead asked importantly. Harry noted that he had a silver badge with a capital P on it pinned to his robes.

"Oh, not us. Just Harry, here." Miranda said, putting a hand on Harry's shoulder. "We're just bringing him here."

At this, Ginny's sadness seemed to magically vanish. "Harry? Harry Potter?"

Harry groaned. "Is everyone I try to talk to going to react like this?" At the girl's surprised expression, he sighed and said, "Yes, I'm Harry Potter."

Ginny seemed to brighten. "I know where the platform is! I can show you!" She then exuberantly led Harry through the crowd and to a wall between the numbers Nine and Ten. "It's behind this wall." She explained. "We go through here so we're not tripping over the muggle train lines." She then turned towards her older brothers. "You should show him how to go through!"

"Yes, of course. Fred-"

"I'm George! Honestly, woman, call yourself our mother? Can't you tell the difference between us?" One of the redheads asked indigently.

"Oh, I'm sorry, George." His mother said, patting him on the shoulder.

The boy and his identical brother lined up in front of the wall. "Just kidding, I am Fred!" With that, he ran through the wall and disappeared, his brother right behind him.

Ginny smiled apologetically at Harry while her mother made an exasperated noise. "Percy? Ron? You'd best be off." She turned and smiled in a friendly way at Harry. "First time at Hogwarts? Don't worry, it's a very friendly school. It's Ron's first year, too." With that, Percy and Ron ran through the wall as well.

Carrie took a breath and said, "I guess this is as far as we go." She ran her fingers through Harry's hair just like she had when she had first met him. "Good luck, Trouble. Watch where you step."

"Have fun." Was Miranda's contribution.

"Make friends," Pierce said with a wink. Harry blushed, to Ginny's confusion. He nodded towards her and his friends before running through the barrier.

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Harry watched the platform in amazement. There was a whole new platform on the other side of the wall, a scarlet red steam engine waiting for him with the sign _Hogwarts Express 11:00 _hanging over it. Hundreds of other kids were milling around the platform, loading their trunks and saying goodbye to their parents. Harry was amazed; he hadn't thought there would be so many other wizards.

"Gran," he heard a boy say somewhere behind him, "I lost my toad again."

"Oh, Neville," an older voice sighed. Harry glanced over his shoulder to see a boy about his age looking around, an older woman beside him. Harry pulled down his baseball hat to hide his hair and his scar before moving on.

He found an entrance to the train and walked on board. He wandered down the hall until he found an empty compartment and settled in. His heart was pounding. Before this, no matter where he went he always had his three friends, who were more like older siblings to him now.

Now he was alone, on a train to a school that would teach him about a special gift he had. His mind went back to the Philosopher's Stone, safely locked up in Carrie's drawer.

It was both exhilarating and terrifying, to think of what could await him there.

He put his trunk on an upper compartment and set Maria's cage down. He opened the door slightly and petted her fur. "Sorry, girl," He said when she tried to push past his hand, "I can't let you out until I get to Hogwarts."

Suddenly, the compartment door opened and one of the Greengrass sisters appeared in the doorway. She did a double-take when she saw Harry and stumbled backwards a bit. "Uhh...hi?" She asked weakly.

"Hi." Harry said. He looked at her for a moment, her trunk was smaller than his and she seemed not to have a familiar. "Aren't you Astoria Greengrass?"

"Y-You remember us?" Daphne blurted out, before wincing like she couldn't believe she had said that. "Ah – no. Astoria's my sister, younger than me by a year. We look alike. I'm Daphne."

"Oh, right. Sorry." Harry said. "You can sit down. It's fine."

Daphne gave a relieved sort of smile before sitting down on the couch across from him. "I'm sorry if my dad freaked you out a little yesterday." She said. "He's not very subtle when there's something he has in mind. I hope that didn't bother you too much."

"I was just surprised." Harry responded. "No problems."

There was a pause as Harry cast around for a topic of conversation. He really wasn't very good at this. "So...any idea what Hogwarts is like?"

"My father went there for schooling." Daphne recalled. "His years were a little overshadowed by You-Know-Who's rise to power, but he said that it's a good school. Mom wanted to send me to a private school but Hogwarts is one of the best."

"There are others?" Harry asked. "I've just learned about magic, so I'm catching up."

"Oh, yeah." Daphne nodded. "Of all the high-profile schools, there's Beaubaxons in France and Drumstrang in Germany. There's also Nocturne, but that's a private school in America. Salem is also high profile, but it's girls only."

"I see." Harry thought about that. "Hagrid said my parents went to Hogwarts."

Daphne nodded. "Lily and James Potter were Head boy and girl in their time." She said.

"Your sister seemed really unhappy yesterday." Harry remarked. "She was scowling the whole time."

"Astoria's passions boil close to the surface." Daphne sighed. "I don't think it will bode well for her now that she'd engaged to Draco Malfoy. I'm not sure he appreciates her personality."

"Engaged?" Harry repeated. "But she's ten."

Daphne looked funny at Harry. "You're weren't raised wizard, were you?" She asked.

"No," Harry responded with a shake of his head. "I was raised by my aunt and uncle, in Little Whining. In that house, magic meant getting in trouble – lots of it." He snorted and leaned back in his seat. "Honestly, I prefer Juvenile Hall to the house I had to live in."

"Juvenile Hall?"

"Well, until you're eighteen you're too young for prison, so they send you to this place called Juvie where they're supposed to break you of your habits and turn you back into an upstanding citizen without breaking your learning." Harry responded. Did the wizarding world not have children's correctional facilities?

"You're an offender?" Daphne asked, shocked.

"Multiple accounts of theft and arson. Aunt Petunia tried to get me in for assault but that was ruled as self-defence." Harry responded breezily. With any luck, that would curb Mr. Greengrass's enthusiasm to have him as a son-in-law.

"Arson?"

"It means willful destruction of another's property." Harry explained. "In my defence, Piers liked to beat me up pretty bad, so I had a bit of a grudge by then."

Daphne stared at him for a long moment. "...Astoria was right about you."

"I'm sorry?" Harry echoed, surprised.

Daphne tossed her hair over her shoulder. "My mum has been trying to teach us to read people's personality from their eyes, their expressions and the way they talk." She explained. "Astoria said she thought you caused trouble. Devil may care, I think was how she described it."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "What do you think of that?"

Daphne looked back at him for a long moment. "As a daughter of two purebloods, I've never been allowed to do much." She whispered. "It's about grace and beauty and security. It's like living in a cage. I think you have the potential to be dangerous, Harry." She paused and then whispered, "I think I need a little dangerous."

Harry felt a slight smirk edge its way onto his face. "Alright."

Daphne smiled tentatively and glanced at Maria. "She's your familiar?" She asked.

"Yeah. Be careful with Maria, she's friendly enough but she has a nasty bite and claws things she isn't supposed to," Harry warned. "Do you have a familiar?"

Daphne nodded and opened her trunk. From there she removed a cage with a snowy white owl. "Technically, its a gift for my sister from Draco's parents," She said, "But Astoria wanted to be close to me, so she told me to take her with me."

Harry stared at her trunk. "How'd you do that?"

"Bottomless charm. My father put it on my trunk so I wouldn't have to carry much." Daphne said.

Harry glanced at his gigantic trunk and muttered, "Should probably learn that one." Daphne giggled. "What's her name?"

"Hedwig," Daphne replied fondly, reaching through the cage to stroke the owl's feathers.

At this moment, the door to the compartment opened to reveal the one of the redheads from earlier, Ron if Harry's memory served him. "Hi. Aren't you Harry Potter?" He asked.

"Yes." Harry responded slowly. He wasn't sure he liked this guy's expression; it looked kind of like Ginny's but there was something off-putting about it.

"Great! I'm Ron Weasley." He glanced at Daphne, stared at her for a second and then said, "Aren't you Greengrass? Your whole family was in Slytherin, wasn't it?"

Not giving Daphne a chance to respond, he turned back to Harry. "You should be careful who you hang out with. There isn't a single wizard in history who turned dark who didn't come out of Slytherin. Their lot-" He jerked his head towards Daphne "-have been in Slytherin for three generations. She's probably building up a foundation to get her claws in you."

Daphne's jaw dropped; she looked appalled, offended and hurt all at the same time.

Angry, Harry got to his feet and said, "Excuse me? I was having a perfectly ordinary conversation and you come barging in here telling me who I should and shouldn't associate with? And then you accuse a girl who's being friendly with me of being evil and a vamp within two sentences? What's wrong with you?"

Ron looked taken aback. "I'm just trying to help you! Their type-"

"I'll be the judge of that." Harry snapped, moving one foot back taking on the same stance for defending himself. "I've met my fair share of people, Weasley, and believe me I know the difference between someone who's trying to be helpful and a punk who needs a lesson in manners."

Now Ron's ears were starting to go red, "I'm serious! You're the boy-who-lived! Everyone is going to be after you for their own reasons."

"Oh. Does that include you?" Harry asked sarcastically, and his eyes narrowed when Ron's ears went redder. "I'll take that as a yes. Get out."

Angry and bewildered, Ron started to back away when suddenly Draco Malfoy and two large boys who looked more like bodyguards appeared in the doorway.

"So it is true," Draco said in the same drawl he had used in the shop. "Harry Potter has returned to the wizarding world." He glanced at Ron. "Hoping for handouts, Weasley? You probably couldn't afford the shoes on his feet, so that's not surprising."

Ron glared at him. He looked like he'd happily attack Draco but was deterred by the two massive bodyguards.

"You'd be right to chase him off," Draco told Harry, "You'll find out quickly that some wizarding families are better than others. The Weasleys are poor as sin; they just want your money. I can help you find the right people."

Harry stared at Draco in disbelief. Ron hadn't made the greatest first impression but he'd never be cruel to someone who's family barely got by.

Draco turned his attention to Daphne, who was looking more and more nervous as the altercation continued. "Daphne. I want you to leave this compartment."

"What?" Daphne demanded, getting to her feet as well. "Why?"

"Because, your sister and my intended has yet to cease speaking of Harry Potter, and that will never do. You are not to interact with other young men when you're chosen for someone else, and I don't want her hearing any more about him from you."

"You're not my betrothed." Daphne said angrily. Maria's fur was fluffing up ominously as she picked up on the black mood filling the room.

"You and Astoria are close, you share everything. I won't have her meeting other men through you."

"I won't stop talking to her just because I have a guy friend!" Daphne was close to shouting at this point.

Draco raised an eyebrow. "I wouldn't have pegged you as the promiscuous type, Daphne. I figured your mother would have raised you better."

"We're not messing around or doing anything improper, we're just having a conversation! It's perfectly normal!" Daphne shouted back, eyes burning with anger and unshed tears.

"I'll go to my father," Draco said warningly.

"You wouldn't disgrace my sister over something that trivial if you had _half _the honour you claim to have! My parents offered to join our houses because they thought you were a great and noble family, but if you dishonour Astoria over _my_ actions you have no more honour than a Death Eater!" Daphne seethed.

"Yeah!" Ron said vehemently, his obvious animosity towards Draco overriding his suspicions of Daphne. "You're just a slimy snake."

Draco had gone rigid. He shot a look at one of the big boys, who suddenly lunged towards Daphne and slapped her across the face.

Harry moved so fast it was a blur; he kicked the boy at the side of the kneecap, sending him to the floor. In the next second he grabbed the boy's head and slammed it against his knee before flinging him backwards into Draco. The boy howled in pain, clutching a bloody nose.

Harry turned on his heels towards a stunned Draco, putting himself between the boys and Daphne, who was sitting on the edge of her seat holding her cheek. "Touch her again," He said through gritted teeth, "And I will break every bone in your hand."

Draco pulled out his wand, but Harry struck the inside of his wrist with enough force to knock the piece of wood loose. He snatched the falling wand and said, "I will snap this in half if you aren't out of this compartment in the next five seconds. One."

"You can't do this! Don't you know who I am?" Draco demanded shrilly, but he was staring at Harry with wide eyes, as if he couldn't believe what he had just seen.

"Two." Harry intoned, the undercurrent of rage still burning in his voice.

"Potter!"

"Three." Harry started to bend the wand.

Looking furious, scared and humiliated all at once, Draco fled the compartment, his dumb bodyguards following a second after.

Harry tossed the wand out into the hall and shut the compartment doors in Ron's awed face. For a second, he glared at the doorway and exhaled angrily, trying to get his emotions back under control.

After a moment, he turned and sat in front of Daphne, putting a hand on her bruised, swelling cheek. "Are you alright?" He asked. Hedwig and Maria both made noises of distress.

"I'll be fine." Daphne's voice was barely more than a whisper. "You shouldn't have done that Harry...Draco's father Lucius is influential and he'll be furious when he hears about this."

Harry shook his head, "I'm not afraid of influential people. Prison is nothing new for me. And besides, I wasn't about to let the brat smack you around out of some sense of entitlement."

Suddenly, in the hall, there was a loud snap and an outraged scream. There was pounding and shuffling as a fight broke out in the hall. "Must be Ron Weasley," Harry muttered, Draco had obviously struck a nerve with his 'poor as sin' remark. He examined Daphne's cheek before muttering, "I should get you some ice."

He heard yelling in the hall, one of the voices belonging to Ron's older brother Percy Weasley. "Stay here." Harry murmured before stepping out into the hall.

Sure enough, Percy and another boy had dragged Ron and Draco off each other, two broken wands lying on the floor of the train. A girl and a boy were standing a few feet away, watching the scene in alarm.

Percy was still shouting, "Ronald Weasley! Getting in a fight before we even reach Hogwarts? Even Fred and George at least made it to the opening feast! _And _your wand is broken! What is the meaning of this?! Flint, we must separate these two."

The other boy, Flint, who had the same silver P badge that Percy did, nodded and began pulling Draco further down the hall, the two dumb boys trailing after him.

Harry let out an irritated snort and dug into his pockets. He was sure he was at least partially at fault for things getting out of hand, and Ron would be in trouble at school without a wand. He took Ron's hand and filled it with gallons. "Use that for a new wand. Don't pay me back." He said.

He turned from Ron's shocked expression to look at an equally surprised Percy. "I need to get something for swelling," Harry said. "When Draco was in my compartment one of his goons struck Daphne across the face."

Percy adopted a look of righteous outrage, "He hit a girl? Terrible! Of course I can get something..." He waved his wand a few times an a pack of ice appeared. "This will slow it for now, after the sorting she should see Madam Pomfery, the school nurse." He instructed.

Harry nodded and returned to his compartment. He handed the ice to Daphne. "Hold that." He said.

Daphne placed the ice on her cheek and smiled at Harry, rubbing tears away from the edges of her eyes. "Thank you Harry..."

The boy and the girl from the hallway stuck their heads in their compartment, looking awkward. "Um...excuse me," The girl said, looking embarrassed. "But have either of you seen a toad anywhere? Neville's lost his." She gestured to the boy.

"Toad..." Daphne muttered. "Oh, wait – is this it?" She reached under her seat and seized a large toad with her free hand.

"Trevor!" The boy, Neville, exclaimed happily, carefully taking the toad from Daphne. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Daphne murmured.

The girl looked at her face critically, "Are you alright? That looks like an awful bruise."

"I'll be fine." Daphne insisted, eyes dropping to the floor.

"Mind if we stay here? We're halfway to school by now." The girl said. Harry sighed heavily but waved them in.

The girl launched into conversation as soon as she was sitting down. "I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and they've all worked for me. Nobody in my family's got magic at all, it was such a surprise to get my letter. I was so pleased, I mean it's the very best school of witchcraft there is or so I've been told – I've learned all the books by heart, of course, I hope that's enough – I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, and you are?"

Harry wanted to brain himself._ A teacher's pet, there's a god-damned teacher's pet in my compartment. Someone kill me now._

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Mercifully, the train ride wasn't much longer and Harry didn't have to gouge out his eardrums from listening to Hermione Granger's increasing ramblings about school rules and the textbooks and the expectations and such, Daphne having been too dazed to cut her off and Neville desperately hanging on her every word.

In the few moments he _could _talk Neville had told Harry that he was afraid he'd be turned back because he showed so little magic. Harry responded that he doubted that since Neville had already been accepted into the school, he must meet the criteria. Neville's personality seemed to be an inverse of Dudley's; his lack of confidence was palpable.

Stepping out of the train after being told Maria and his luggage were being transported to the castle and would be moved into wherever he was sorted, Harry began mentally going over the letter he was going to send Carrie and the others while looking in the direction of the school.

It was huge and majestic, like something out of a fairy tale. They went there by boat – Harry almost had to take the same boat as Granger, but thankfully two other boys got to his and Daphne's boat first. They introduced themselves as Dean Thomas and Blaise Zabini. Blaise mostly spoke Italian, but he was friendly enough, while Dean was a football enthusiast who'd just entered the magical world.

Harry, for his part, simply sat and listened. _Learn your surroundings. Learn the people_. Daphne had been happy to fill in for his silence. The swelling in her cheek had gone down. _Learn the schedule. Learn the building._ His eyes focused on the walls of the school as they got closer and closer.

Hagrid lead them through the gates and into the castle, looking worse for wear than the last time Harry had seen him. He brought the to a staircase where a stern-looking witch was waiting for them. Harry instinctively noted that she was less than likely to tolerate acting out in her class; he'd have to remember that.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall." Hagrid rumbled.

The stern witch nodded. "Thank you, Hagrid." She turned her attention to the students. "When you step through these doors, you will be sorted into one of four houses. Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and lineage. While you are here these houses will function as your home away from home. Now, this way please."

Daphne kept pace with Harry, the swelling of her cheek having gone down dramatically. She murmured, "I'm probably going to be in Slytherin. Do you have any idea which house you'll be in? Your father and mother were Gryffindors."

Harry shrugged. "I'm not sure. I was thinking Slytherin, but I haven't liked the personalities I've met there, bar you." He shot a dark look in Malfoy's direction, the blonde having been trying to glare a hole in his head every since stepping off the boats.

"I suppose we'll see," Daphne agreed.

Professor McGonagall marched the students into a huge hallway. There were four tables, one for each house, in the hall, with the older students already sitting at it. The staff table was at the front, behind a stool with a hat sitting on it. Harry could see Hagrid and an old white-haired man who could only be Headmaster Dumbledore sitting up there too.

McGonagall turned around next to the chair and pulled out a list of names. "Abbot, Hannah!"

Harry watched curiously as a redhaired girl walked up to the chair, sat down and had the hat placed on her head. After a second, the hat came to life, and shouted, "HUFFLEPUFF!"

_Huh. Interesting. _Harry put his hands in his pockets and looked around. He saw a black-haired man in dark clothes who resembled a vampire more than anything else staring at him with an expression of intense dislike. Why, Harry had no idea. He smirked in the man's direction before turning his eyes back to the Sorting.

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Severus Snape jerked his head back when Harry Potter met his gaze. The expression in the Golden Brat's eyes had been the last thing he'd expected – and he didn't think it was something he should welcome. The boy had smirked – not in that arrogant, condescending way so characteristic of James Potter. No, it was more of a '_if I am sufficiently angry, I will burn your house down for kicks.'_

Perhaps he was imagining it, but he had a feeling this wasn't going to bode well for his years here.

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"Duchannes, Conner." "RAVENCLAW!"

"Granger, Hermione." "GRYFFINDOR!"

"Greengrass, Daphne."

Harry nodded at his friend, who smiled softly and walked up to the hat. It sat on her head for a few moments before shouting, "SLYTHERIN!"

Daphne took off her hat and walked down to the Slytherin table, shooting a nervous smile at Harry as she walked on.

"Goyle, Gregory." "SLYTHERIN!"

"Longbottom, Neville." "GRYFFINDOR!"

"Malfoy, Draco." SLYTHERIN!"

"Potter, Harry."

Harry watched as all eyes fell on him and the hall became quiet. He glanced at the staff table; Dumbledore was leaning forward in his seat. His interest was obvious, and Harry didn't like it at all.

Professor McGonagall blinked when Harry walked up to her and dug a letter out of his pocket. "It's for the Headmaster." He said. "It's confidential." McGonagall looked confused, but accepted the letter.

He took a breath and walked up to the seat. The hat was placed on his head.

"_Hm." _Harry resisted the urge to wince as a voice resonated inside his head. "_Difficult, difficult...you're a tough case, Harry Potter. Let's see...cunning and brilliance are tools you've been using for a long time, Slytherin would suit you well..." _

"_I thought about that," _Harry retorted inside his head, _"But then you put Malfoy in that house and its appeal dropped drastically. There's little doubt in my mind that my life at school would be exceptionally hard if I was a Slytherin."_

"_I see...you're probably right. Well...you're a smart boy, how about Ravenclaw?" _

"_Not much of a bookworm, sorry. Besides, I doubt the studious Ravenclaws would tolerate my brand of humor."_

"_Hm...Gryffindor would suit you, too." _

"_You sure of that?"_ Harry asked mildly. _"I suppose I can be brave, but 'chivalrous' and 'noble' are not the words I'd use to describe myself." _

"_You're a troublemaker, yes. But that is not the only part of you."_

"_I suppose...alright, I'll go with that." _

Dumbledore was beginning to become concerned, this was one of the longest sortings he'd ever seen in all his years at Hogwarts. He was about to ask the hat what was wrong when suddenly it yelled out, "GRYFFINDOR!"

The red and gold house erupted into cheers as Harry got off his chair and walked over to their table. The Weasley twins had started a chant of "We got Potter! We got Potter!" Harry saw Daphne smile and wave from her table.

"Uh, hi." Ron mumbled when Harry sat down. "I just wanted to say thank you. For the money. And I'm sorry about the train."

"Don't mention it," Harry said absently, looking around his table. Neville had smiled a bit when he'd seen him before staring at his plate. Hermione was lecturing another first year on the fact that the sky-like ceiling was an enchantment. When the hubbub finally died down they turned to watch the rest of the sorting.

"Thomas, Dean." "GRYFFINDOR!"

"Winchester, Carol."

Harry watched as a dark haired girl walked up to the sorting hat. She paused, turned and sat down, wincing slightly when she did. Just before the hat was put over her eyes she turned and looked at him. For a split second, her eyes shone gold, and Harry felt a shock go down his spine.

Those eyes saw so much. Too much.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Carol slowly got off her chair, never breaking eye contact with Harry, the expression on her face suggesting she had felt it too. Quickly, she directed her eyes at the floor and walked over to the table, sitting several chairs away from him.

Harry finally tore his gaze away from her and stared at his plate. "That was weird." He muttered.

"What?" Dean asked, confused.

"Zabini, Blaise!"

"It's nothing." Harry muttered.

"SLYTHERIN!"

Finally, everyone was sorted, and the meal began.

%&%&%&%&&%&%&%&%%&&%%

Albus Dumbledore wearily sat back in his chair, relieved. For a moment there, he'd been worried Harry was going to be sorted somewhere other than Gryffindor. He had known, of course, that he'd be condemning Harry to ten difficult years when he left the boy on the steps of his aunt and uncle, but he had been confident that the boy's basic character wouldn't change – that the experience would turn him into the admirable young boy who would need to face Voldemort.

The Winchester girl had also been a spot of concern, since the hat had put her in Gryffindor, but Dumbledore was certain nothing would come of it; young people didn't make friends with the opposite genders at this age.

McGonagall had turned her attention to the strange letter Harry had given her. She opened it, and read it's contents. Her face whitened.

"Albus. This is dreadful."

"What?" Dumbledore asked, startled. Minerva turned her attention to him, shock slowly collapsing into an angry scowl.

"I told you not to leave him with those muggles, Albus. See what has become of it."

"My dear Minerva, what are you talking about?" Dumbledore requested, bewildered by his deputy Headmistress's hostility. Snape looked over in interest.

McGonagall placed the open letter on Dumbledore's plate, and simply said, "Harry Potter is a criminal."

She might as well have punched Albus in the gut; the world lurched dangerously for a moment. He immediately picked up the letter and retreated from the table, muttering for McGonagall to finish the evening.

Once safely within his office, Albus Dumbledore read over the letter, hardly daring to believe -

_Dear Sir/Ma'am._

_I understand that Harry James Potter is transferring to your boarding school to complete his education. I do not know if this information is already available to you, but since I cannot locate any correspondence from your school I feel it is best to send you this note. _

_As a police officer I am required to inform you that Harry Potter has a criminal record; he has been placed in our Juvenile Corrections facility multiple times ever since an incident when he was six years of age, when he pushed his cousin and a friend off the roof of his suburban house. On this record are multiple counts of theft and arson within the Little Whining area, several parents have requested I press assault charges but those have been ruled as self-defence. He also consistently associates with three other troubled children he met during a stretch at Corrections. I believe he may have committed many other thefts and acts of vandalism but was never caught. _

_Now, I believe this behaviour stems from his frustration with his home life, specifically the people he lives with and nearby. I originally suspected his guardians were abusive, and that suspicion still lingers, though I have yet to collect any solid evidence of it. Hopefully he'll be able to thrive away from them and the environment he associates with unhappiness, but I urge you to keep an eye on him, and make sure he's comfortable and happy. If not, he will undoubtedly continue with this criminal activity and end up in an adult system when he becomes of age. _

_Thank you for your time, _

_Officer Linda Parker, British Police Service, Little Whining division._

Dumbledore had to sit down and rest a hand on his head. Harry Potter, a criminal...this was terrible... dreadful. How would this affect his plans? He knew that Petunia and Vernon would have no love of their nephew, but to push him to criminal behaviour...he had never thought Harry would go that route.

How could he straighten the boy out? His whole plan depended on Harry being ready to do anything for good, not this.

The disappearance of the Philosopher's Stone had been a serious blow to his plans for this year. The only good thing he could think about this was that Voldemort was yet to discover that the stone was not at Hogwarts; he had gone through many pains to keep the news hushed up. But this, this would change everything.

Severus's approach to the boy may now prove to do more harm than good, with this new information. Or, Albus thought, it could be exactly what he needed.

If Harry was not familiar with friendly adults, than perhaps a kindly, reasonable Headmaster who was willing to let him get away with a thing or two compared to an absolutely unyielding Severus and Minerva would earn him the kind of trust he had meant for the boy to have in him. Yes...yes, that could work.

With any luck, after this year all his plans would continue without incident.

%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&

The moment Harry was settled in his dorm with Maria curled up on his lap he started writing a long letter to Carrie.

_Carrie, Pierce and Miranda_

_Today was very long and hectic, it's hard to know where to start. Carrie, you're going to be annoyed but I got into a fight before I even got to the school. In my defence, the guy I hit had done something to deserve the broken nose I gave him. _

_Remember I told you about Astoria and Daphne Greengrass yesterday? Well, I saw Daphne again on the train today – she's friendly enough, though she seemed really embarrassed when she talked to me. But then I met Ron Weasley, one of the redheads from the platform, and he didn't make a good impression on me. He told me to stay away from Daphne because her whole family was in Slytherin, and apparently they're not to be trusted. I told him exactly what I thought of that and ordered him out of the compartment. That alone would have been bad enough, but then Draco from the robe store appeared as well with these two giant kids for bodyguards. He then proceeded to insult Ron for being poor and told me to get rid of him. _Then _he ordered Daphne out of my compartment because he didn't want Astoria learning about me through her. She told him to get stuffed, one of his guards hit her and I kind of lost my temper. At least I haven't gotten in trouble for it. Yet, anyway. _

_About the school itself – it looks incredible. Kind of like a real-life Disney movie. There are moving staircases, ghosts, talking portraits and floating candles everywhere. We got sorted into the houses today – I told you about them, remember? - and I got sorted into Gryffindor. I know, weird, huh? The hat said something about my stealing not being the only part of me for his reasons for sending me there. Daphne's in Slytherin. There's a really obnoxious teacher's pet who's also in Gryffindor who's been assaulting me and anyone who will listen with random facts about the castle and magic and it's starting to drive me crazy. _

_On another note – this girl, Carol Winchester I think her name was, got sorted here to. I can't explain it, I've got a very weird feeling about her. (no, not that kind of weird Pierce! You know what I mean!) I'm keeping an eye on her because I can't shake this feeling. She's very quiet, hasn't said much but she looks at me strangely._

_The castle itself seems fairly kid friendly, except for a third-floor corridor that will apparently kill us horribly if we go there. (No really, Headmaster Dumbledore said so himself) He also said the Forbidden Forest was out of bounds, which means I'll be checking it out this weekend. My dormmates are Ron Weasley, Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnagin, and Neville Longbottom. _

_There's a wizard town nearby the school called Hogsmeade. Only third years and up are allowed to go, but I'll be consulting the Weasley Twins (resident pranksters here at Hogwarts, apparently) to see if there's a secret way in. Having been cut off from wizarding society for so long makes me want acquaint myself with it as soon as possible._

_Carrie, take care of the Philosopher's Stone. _

_Harry._

%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&

_Dear Mum, Dad and Ginny_

_Today could have gone better, as I'm sure Percy as already told you. I met Harry Potter inside the train. He was sitting with this girl, Greengrass I think? You've probably heard of 'em, dad. Anyway, I warned him that Slytherins are the bad sort and he got very angry with me. Said he'd consort with who he wanted and not to tell him who's the bad sort. Then he told me to leave._

_Then this Draco Malfoy comes into the compartment, insults me for being poor and basically told Harry that we were too low to associate with. And then he ordered Greengrass to leave because apparently he's betrothed to her younger sister and he doesn't want either of them talking to other boys. She told the prat to sod off and one of his goons hit her. Harry – you should have seen him – knocked the guy down in one hit (he was smaller than this guy!) and broke his noes. Then he got Malfoy's wand off him and threatened to snap it if he didn't leave him and Greengrass alone. Malfoy left the compartment and shoved me against the wall, breaking my wand and called me a blood traitor – and I got really mad and broke his wand. Percy and the Slytherin Prefect separated us. _

_Then Harry showed up again, asked Percy for some ice for the Greengrass girl. Then – then he pulled out a fistful of gallons, gave them to me and told me to buy a new wand. He also said not to pay him back! _

_He's been sorted into Gryffindor with me. I don't know what to think of him, Ginny, but he's nothing like those books you have on him – he's too hard. Please don't send me a Howler mum, I already apologized!_

_Ron _

Ginny read over Ron's letter for the third time while her mother and father discussed whether or not to send Ron a Howler. The description was jarring compared to the image of the boy-who-lived that she'd had for many years. She hadn't expected Harry Potter to be so aggressive and sharp. On the other hand, he gave Ron money for a new wand when Malfoy broke his, and said they didn't have to pay him back!

Ginny couldn't wait for next year, when she could go to Hogwarts and meet Harry Potter for herself. Then she'd be able to settle this confusion.

%&%&%&%&&%&%&&%&%&%&

Astoria paced in her room long past her bedtime, waiting for a message from Daphne. Her sister had promised to owl her as soon as she could after she was sorted – and she had never broken a promise to her before. But it was getting late; how long would it take Hedwig to get here?

Finally, her waiting paid off when a snowy white owl landed and tapped on her windowsill. Eagerly Astoria let Hedwig in, took the letter from her and ripped it open.

_Dear Astoria_

_You were right about Harry Potter. And I'm also starting to understand why you feel so strongly about Draco Malfoy._

_Alright, let me back it up – I ran into Harry Potter on the train to Hogwarts. I was embarrassed to see him, especially since dad essentially threw me at him a month ago. But he didn't seemed that bothered by it and let me sit with him. I talked with him for a while, and remember when you told me that you thought he would bring trouble? You were right – he confined in me that he had broken the law before. Nothing too drastic, but apparently he's been in trouble for multiple counts of theft and destruction of other's property. Apparently he did that because this Peris person is cruel to him. _

_That's not all – when this redhaired boy accused me of seducing him, Harry came to my defence. He told him off for judging me and told him to leave. _

_Draco Malfoy cornered us a second later. I think he meant to get Harry as an ally, but he torpedoed it with the way he behaved. First, he insulted the Weasley boy for being poor, and then he ordered me to stay away from Harry. He said that I exchanged too much information with you and that he didn't want you learning about him from me. _

_I rightly pointed out that he was not my betrothed and couldn't give me orders – and one of these two brutes that were flanking him struck me across the face. And Harry – Harry moved so fast I missed it; he took down this much bigger brute with two moves, breaking his nose in the process, without ever touching his wand. Then, he disarmed Malfoy with his hand and promised to break his hand – and his wand – if he or his goons ever hit me again. _

_Of all the boys Father has had me meet, none of them, I think, would have done that for me. He barely knew me, but he stood up for me, to Malfoy, who will undoubtedly complain to his father. When I told him so, he responded that Lucius Malfoy didn't scare him, because he'd been in trouble before. He wasn't going to let Malfoy hit me on that account. _

_It's strange and wonderful. You know, he initially mistook me for you when we met again. You were more vocal than me the first time we met, so I suppose I'm not too surprised._

_Anyways, I correctly predicted that I would be sorted into Slytherin. Also unsurprisingly, Harry was sorted into Gryffindor, but it was strange how long it took the hat to decide his placement – almost five minutes. As far as I know, that's extremely unusual. _

_I've sent a letter to father regarding Malfoy's behaviour towards me. Please report to me what he says in your next letter. _

_I miss you, dear sister, and I cannot wait for you to join me here next year._

_All my love, Daphne. _

Astoria was both furious at Malfoy's treatment of her sister and more pleased with Harry Potter's reaction to it than she would have imagined. Those green eyes had been stuck in her head ever since their trip to the Madam Malkins. She wasn't sure why. Offering Hedwig a treat, she lit a candle and began to write back immediately, hoping to hear more in later letters.

**End Chapter**

**Yeah, as you probably guessed Ginny's initial expectations and image of Harry is going to be completely dashed by his actual personality. But in the end, that'll be a good thing, because then she'll get to know Harry the person sooner than in canon. As for Carol Winchester, her position in this story will become more obvious later.**

**Read and Review please!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Trouble**

**Hello, I'm back. Now, I've received reviews from several readers who are concerned that the newest character Carol Winchester is going to be a scene-stealing Mary Sue. I wish to put these fears to rest - I promise, I monitored her presence in this story very carefully and she won't go into that dreaded category. She will make sense in the context of the story once we find out more about her. Now, I do not own Harry Potter and here's your next chapter. **

**Chapter 4: First Classes**

Harry was woken by Maria attempting to stick her paw in his mouth. An old nightmare from his childhood had come back to haunt him during his first night at Hogwarts – the high, cold laughter, the scream of a woman and the flash of green light seemed to burn behind his eyelids. That was an old dream...one he often had when the Dursleys had thrown him in the cupboard for accidental magic. He still didn't understand it, years later, but the strange feeling of pain and loss would always linger after he had it. Today was no different.

He gently pushed his kitten off his face and groaned, sitting upright in bed. Then he remembered – _first day of magical classes. Damn! Am I late?_ That woke him up for got to his feet and dug his robes out of his trunk. This was the first time he could remember that he was eager to get to class on time. Maria mewed and watched him curiously as he collected his books. "Stay here, girl." He said before taking off.

Getting around Hogwarts proved easier said than done. There weren't any maps, and as Hermione Granger had said earlier the staircases liked to shift occasionally. Some steps vanished, some doors weren't actually doors at all, and a trick staircase was worth the trouble if it meant you could avoid Peeves the Poltergist, who loved causing as much trouble as possible. Thankfully, Nearly Headless Nick, the head Gryffindor ghost, was willing to point him in the right direction whenever he found him.

When Harry had been headed for Transfiguration one of the staircases shifted and put him in front of the forbidden third corridor, where he was immediately confronted with Argus Filtch, the school caretaker.

"What are you doing here, Potter? Didn't the Headmaster make it clear that this floor was out of bounds?" He snapped.

"I'm _lost," _Harry said in irritation. "There isn't exactly a map up. Besides, even if I wanted to kill myself, there are easier ways to do it then this." He waved, vaguely indicating the hallway.

"I otta toss you into the dungeon for your tongue, Potter! You weren't allowed to talk to staff that way in _my _day." Flitch said angrily.

"Then I'll complain to the Headmaster," Harry said in a bored tone, "And I'm sure he'll be glad to hear that you're doing everything in your power to run off the boy-who-lived."

If possible, Harry, who enjoyed the company of his kitten very much, hated Mrs. Norris even more than Flitch and made a note to do something to ruin his day later. Even the Juvie Warden wasn't as nasty as that guy.

Needless to say, Harry did a lot of running around to get to his classes, and then there were the classes themselves.

Easily the most boring was History of Magic. Professor Bins had droned on for a good thirty minutes about goblins rebellions before Harry fell asleep. The only possible upside to this class was that he could probably do just about anything right under Bins's nose, and the ghost would never notice. Only a ghost could make a story about armed rebellion boring.

Hermione, of course, was sitting right next to him and spent a good portion of her time trying to get him to take notes and stop nodding off. "Yes, _mother_." Harry muttered under his breath when she snapped her fingers next to his ear for the third time. She scowled at him and turned her nose up when she was sure he was awake again.

Astorlogy was the only class that resembled his muggle learning, and it took place at midnight. His classmates would stumble up to their dorms, their heads spinning with star names as they tried to get some sleep. Harry was lucky; once you got the hang of it, it was fairly easy to keep up with the students who'd been surrounded my magic from the get-go.

Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher, was a diminutive fellow, but at least he believed in hands-on training. His enjoyment of the lesson he thought seemed to be infectious. Of course, it was getting a little annoying to have everyone literally fall of their chairs when they realized he was in their classroom.

Harry's ominous prediction about Professor McGonagall proved correct. When he and Seamus Finnigin scrambled into her class ten minutes late, she transformed from a cat to a human and suggested that she transfigure one of them into a pocket watch so the other could get to class on time. Seamus wasn't sure if she was serious or not, so they both sat down fast.

"Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts," she said after they sat down, "Anyone messing around in my class will not be coming back. You have been warned." She then turned her desk into a pig, and then back.

Defence Against the Dark Arts proved to be as big a disappointment as it's teacher. The whole room stunk of garlic and you could hardly understand half of what Quirrel was saying, since he stuttered so much. whenever you asked him about actual monsters, he would stammer and start talking about the weather. But worse was the headaches; for some reason whenever Quirrel's back was to Harry he felt a stabbing pain in his head, right where his scar was. After it finally ended, he considered just having a bottle of asprin ready for his next DADA class.

Friday rolled around and Harry was finally memorizing the way down to the Great Hall. "What do we have today?" He asked Dean Thomas.

"Double potions with Slytherin." Dean responded. "Best be careful with the teacher, Professor Snape. He's Head of Slytherin, favours his own house a lot."

Harry resisted the urge to groan at this. So this school did have a Mrs. Cope. _Well, nothing's perfect, _he thought.

"Harry?"

Harry started and turned around, coming face to face with Carol Winchester. If he was honest with himself, he'd admit that he'd been avoiding Carol ever since the sorting. Not out of malice, but because he didn't like the way her eyes seemed to see through him; it left him feeling vulnerable and exposed. She was holding out a book in one pale hand. His Charms textbook. "You forgot this." She said.

"Oh. Thank you." Harry took the book back from her, his hand brushing against hers. He was surprised by how cool her skin felt. Carol looked down at her feet and moved back to her seat.

A moment later, the post arrived. A school owl dropped off a letter for Harry, from Carrie's address. She was probably the only one if his friends who knew how to send letters to Hogwarts; Pierce and Miranda had just stared blankly at him when he had explained it to them.

Daphne fell in step with Harry as Gryffindor and Slytherin students made for the dungeons, which were cold and forbidding. They went into the Potions room and got their seats. Harry watched as Carol sat down alone in a table near the corner. For a second, he wondered why she was isolating herself.

"I heard Dean Thomas warn you about Snape," Daphne murmured in Harry's ear as the vampire-like man who'd been glaring at him during the sorting blew into the room robes billowing. "It's worth mentioning it again; he can be vindictive and nasty."

"I have a feeling." Harry responded, watching the Potion's master come in. He'd seen Snape staring at him with intense dislike at dinner, something he quite frankly found ridiculous. It was fine to glare at him _after _he'd done something he wasn't supposed to, but the man's expression bordered on petulance.

Snape started taking roll call, until he reached Harry's name. "Oh yes, Harry Potter...our new _celeberty." _Draco, Crabbe and Goyle snickered.

Harry merely arched an eyebrow, not seeing how that was funny.

Snape calmly delivered a quiet lecture on Potion's class before stating that he would be able to teach them to bottle death – provided they weren't the usual batch of dunderheads he usually got saddled with. Hermione Granger, of course, was immediately at the edge of her seat, eager to prove she wasn't a dunderhead.

"Potter!" Snape said suddenly. "What would I get if I added powered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Hermione's hand immediately went up. Harry simply stared flatly at the teacher. "Sir, I assure you, if I knew how to make a high-grade potion flawlessly, I wouldn't have to take this class. As it is, I have no way of answering that question."

A couple people – certainly Ron and Seamus – snickered. Snape simply scowled darkly at Harry. "Five points from Gryffindor for your cheek, Potter." He snapped. "All of you, get in pairs."

Hermione glared at Harry, who rolled his eyes and offered to work with Daphne. The blonde smiled and nodded.

Sure enough, it didn't get much better for the Gryffindors for the rest of the class. The only student Snape actually seemed to be pleased with was Malfoy, irritatingly enough. Daphne had just moved their cauldron off the fire and put in the porcupine quills when Harry caught sight of Neville about to make a serious mistake. He reached over and grabbed the boy's wrist. "Put those in now and the cauldron will melt." He told Neville. "Take it off the fire first."

Looking terrified of the mistake he almost made, Neville nodded rapidly, and he and Seamus moved the cauldron off the fire.

Snape directed his ire at Harry once again. "that will be two points from Gryffindor, Potter. You shouldn't have helped him."

"As opposed to saying nothing, and letting the potion explode and possibly put several students in the hospital?" Harry challenged. He was starting to like Snape as little as the teacher liked him. "I fail to see the logic in that, Professor, after all, the point of school is to have your mistakes corrected, isn't it?"

Snape's jaw locked in anger. He turned his back on Harry for one second. Harry, now thoroughly irritated, tossed two porcupine quills across Neville's table...straight into Malfoy's potion.

A cloud of acid green smoke and loud hissing filled the dungeon. "Told you," Harry muttered. Snape shouted for Crabbe and Goyle to move Malfoy to the hospital wing, because now there were boils on his face.

When walking out of class an hour later, Hermione stepped out in front of Harry with an angry expression.

"You shouldn't be talking back to a teacher!" She snapped. "They're our seniors. You've lost eight points for Gryffindor in your first week, Harry. You should think of how your behaviour affects the rest of us."

"Oh, give over, teacher's pet." Harry retorted. "With your obsession with answering every question poised in class you'll win all those points back in a day. Mind your own business."

"It's not good for you to act out the way you do," Hermione went on as if she hadn't heard him. "Unless you're hoping to get bragging points over how many schools you got kicked out of, and I assure you that won't be fun."

"He shouldn't have taken points away for Harry helping Neville," Was Daphne's opinion. She'd walked up behind them.

"You're not the one who lost points," Hermione responded, before marching off.

"I hate her." Harry growled, glaring at her back.

Daphne sighed. "You'll get used to her, Harry. Besides, she might have point about Snape – antagonizing him might make him worse."

"He doesn't have a right to be worse." Harry said angrily. "If he's teaching us, we shouldn't have to be afraid of him."

Daphne gave a slight nod and they parted ways to go to their next class.

%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%%&

On the way up to the boy's room, Harry almost walked into Carol, who had stopped on the stairwell to stare out the window in the direction of the Forbidden Forest.

"Ow! Sorry." Harry followed her gaze. "Is something wrong?"

Carol turned her unnerving blue eyes back to him, and Harry could have sworn they flashed gold again for a split second. "Something is wrong." She whispered. "But I'm not sure what..." Before Harry could say anything, she raised a finger and placed it on his scar.

Harry nearly jumped when he felt a spark in his forehead, and Carol drew her hand back like it had been burned. "I...Carol?" Harry asked, at loss for what to do. He had no idea what was going on or how to react to it.

"It feels like your scar." Carol murmured, more to herself as to him.

"Come again?" Harry asked, bur Carol suddenly turned and ran up the stairs into the girl's dormitory. Harry stared blankly after her. _Ooookay, that girl definitely has something missing in her head...creepy...but that could that possibly mean? It feels like your scar? What's she talking about?_

**End Chapter**

**...UGH. Okay, forgive me for it being shorter than the others, but this was MURDER to write, literal murder. Please don't leave, I promise it gets better than this, I just couldn't...Agh! There's really no words to describe how frustrating this was. Snape is _hard, _it's so easy to take his character to far in either direction. hitting the mark is just...ugh. **

**If you can suggest _any _way for making this chapter better, I would gladly take it!**

**Read and Review please!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Trouble**

**Well, I'm over the hump that was the last chapter. I think this one is much smoother. Now, I do not own Harry Potter...enjoy!**

**Chapter 5: Flying Lessons and a Troll**

Harry had felt some trepidation when he saw the notice that Gryffindors and Slytherins would be learning flying together.

The idea of flying on a broomstick appealed to him greatly, but he was fairly certain Malfoy would love to push him off his broom, especially after their first Potions lesson. Apparently, the Potions master who had taken points off him was Malfoy's godfather, which made a lot of sense to Harry – that type of people just seemed to gravitate towards each other. Malfoy had been colder than ever after that lesson, especially since the other Gryffindors seemed very pleased by Harry snarking back at the teacher.

He was also hearing from Fred and George Weasley that the school brooms were old and had a tenancy to break or jerk around when you mounted one. Ostensibly the school didn't have the money to replace them, which was strange for the most respected magical school in Britain.

Malfoy liked to talk a lot about flying. At breakfast and dinner he was always going on with stories of that always seemed to end with him narrowly escaping muggle helicopters. Harry highly doubted these stories were true, but at any rate he had never been on a broom before, and Malfoy definitely had. It was never good to have lower ground when dealing with an opponent.

That was enough to make Harry tempted to skip the class and hide out somewhere, but he scrapped the thought. He wasn't about to miss out on flying because of Malfoy.

It was a sunny, cloudless day with a pleasant breeze as the Gryffindors and Slytherins piled out into a field where they were greeted by Madam Hooch, the flying instructor. There were twenty broomsticks lying in rows on the ground. They didn't look to be in the best shape, as the Twins had said.

"Everyone stand by a broomstick," Madam Hooch instructed. "and say, UP!"

"Up!" Everyone shouted.

Harry's broomstick immediately flew up into his hand. It was one of three that did, Granger's simply rolled on the ground while Neville's wouldn't budge. Harry felt kind of sorry for Neville; nothing ever seemed to work out for him, and Malfoy took delight in bullying him about it. Harry didn't think Neville would do well on a broom anyway; he was a very nervous boy.

Next, Hooch told them how to stay on their brooms without sliding off; she walked up and down the rows correcting their grips. Harry didn't bother to hide his smirk when she told Malfoy that he'd been doing it wrong for years.

Then came hovering."Now, when I blow my whistle, I want you all to kick off from the ground, hard. Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet and then come straight back down. On my whistle – three – two – one."

A Slytherin girl named Tracy Davis was careful to do as instructed, but when she kicked off, her broom suddenly shot straight up like a rocket, hurtling high up in the air. It gained momentum steadily until she was at level with the towers, nearly a dot to anyone looking up.

"Come back!" Hooch yelled. Tracy's only response was a distant, terrified scream. Her panic spread to the other students; Dean and Pavarti Patil bolted from the pitch back towards Hogwarts, hoping to get a teacher before it got any worse.

The broom jerked a few times, and suddenly split in half, sending the redhaired Slytherin hurtling towards the ground.

Harry couldn't remember doing it, his response was purely instinctive. In a split second he mounted his broom and flew straight up towards the falling girl.

Tracy was terrified, she shut her eyes waiting for it all to end there was no way she'd survive a fall from that height. The wind howled around her as it dragged her back onto the ground, the impact of which would shatter every bone in her body and leave her a bloodstained indentation in the earth. Her life was flashing in front of her, it wasn't fair it was so short, she didn't want to die yet –

Suddenly, there were arms around her breaking her fall. The broom below her shuddered and dropped a few feet, but held steady.

Harry said a few words he'd picked up from Carrie as his broom jerked under the extra weight. These brooms really were pieces of crap; it would hardly obey him. He kept an iron grip on the handle with one hand, keeping it from moving around, his other arm securing the shaking redhead, who was still crying out. "You can stop screaming," He managed, the wind blowing her hair into his face somewhat.

Tracy blinked, and finally registered she wasn't falling anymore. She pulled her head back just a little and stared in shock and amazement at the black-haired Gryffindor who'd caused a commotion in Potions class holding onto her, saving her from certain death. He regarded her with clear emerald eyes, "I still want to be able to hear in that ear," he said lightly.

Tracy was too shocked to respond. She couldn't believe it; she was saved, by a Gryffindor no less – she never would have expected a lion to lift a finger to a snake, much less risk their own life for one.

Carefully Harry manoeuvred his twitchy broom to take them both back down to the ground. When they reached it, he dismounted carefully, still holding Tracy who nearly collapsed when her feet touched solid ground.

Harry was immediately swamped with students shouting and babbling with amazement; Madam Hooch ran over to Tracy and took her from Harry's steady hands. "Are you hurt?" She demanded.

Tracy managed to shake her head no, still trembling from her near-death experience, turning her head to stare at Harry some more. She was crying a second later, and started babbling in German. It took Harry a second to realize she was thanking him.

"Mr. Potter!"

Harry looked back to see his Head of House running towards him, Dean and Pavarti right behind her. She was pale with shock, "I never – not in all my years – I can't believe – d-dear Merlin, are you both alright?"

"I'm fine," Harry responded. "Tracy might be suffering from shock, though." He nodded towards Tracy, who was sitting down on the grass not trusting her legs at the moment.

"How did you _do _that?" Ron demanded, eyes wide, managing to make himself heard over all the yelling going on. "With a _school broom_?"

Harry shrugged. "I wasn't thinking about it, with a girl about to fall to her death and everything-" there were a few giggles that held a certain degree of nervousness or hysteria to them; Neville had put a good three feet between himself and the broom he'd been using. "but I just did what felt right, and kept a strong hand on the handle. Wasn't that hard."

"I see," Professor McGonagall said. "Madam Hooch, do you have any idea what happened?"

"No." Hooch looked ready to riot, "I've been telling the Headmaster for years that these brooms need replacing, but he simply refuses to listen – I don't understand why that happened, but these old brooms are dangerously unpredictable."

Professor McGonagall pursed her lips and nodded. "I see; I hereby declare the school brooms a safety hazard, no one is to use them until they can be replaced. I'll be informing Professor Dumbledore of this incident, and we'll be investigating it." She nodded at the shattered remains of Tracy's broom. Her eyes then fell on Harry. "Harry Potter is hereby awarded seventy-five points for saving another student's life. Mr. Thomas, Ms. Patil, please escort Ms. Davis to the infirmary to be on the safe side. The rest of you, dismissed."

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_Harry_

_Wow, I wish I could go to Hogwarts – it doesn't sound like it's ever boring there. Carrie predicted right – everything around here since you've left is back to boring-as-hell routine. Our parents have been having rows every other day, Carrie's brothers nearly burned her house down when they came home drunk, but apart from that we've been wandering through schoolwork and stuff. Miranda got busted for swiping the principle's car keys, but we haven't had charges since you left either. _

_Keep an eye on that Malfoy brat; spoiled brats will hold grudges to their deathbeds if they feel sufficiently insulted. If that vampire teacher (Snipe or something) favours him you'll want to be as discreet as possible. As for Carol Winchester, you might want to watch her carefully – there might be more to that weird feeling. _

_Keep Writing – Carrie, Pierce and Miranda._

Harry read over his letter on the way to Charms class, contemplating how to retell the story of him saving Tracy. It was all his housemates wanted to talk about; he'd been receiving many admiring looks in the hallways, like he was some sort of 'freaking action star. After being well-known for less heroic reasons over the years Harry found this attention awkward. He wasn't sure how to respond to it.

He'd seen Tracy walk into the Great Hall at dinner. Daphne and another girl who's name was escaping him ran over and hugged her. Tracy glanced his way, blushed fiercely and sat down to eat, head lowered, golden-red hair falling around her face.

Harry shook his head to collect his thoughts and was headed for the Gryffindor table where he saw Draco standing, talking.

"I can't believe flying lessons are suspended," Draco said angrily, "just because of one cursed broom-"

Ron, as usual, let the blonde pureblood get under his skin with minimum effort. "In case your forgetting," he snapped, "That girl Davis could have _died_."

"It's a travesty for the school not to have flying lessons. How are the first years going to try out for Quidditch next year?" Draco demanded.

"And that shows where _your _priorities are," Ron growled.

Draco turned and saw Harry, scowling. "Potter."

"What now?" Harry asked, "If you want Neville's Remembrall that badly, I'm sure you could badger your rich father into buying you one." Draco had tried to take the item at breakfast, but had been stopped by McGonagall.

Draco's cheeks flushed. "Alright, Potter, if you're so confident. I bet you couldn't fight with a wand – don't think I forgot about what you did on the train. It's a disgrace to the Potter family – you rely on your fists and feet like a common thug."

"What's your certainty on that?" Harry raised one eyebrow. "You don't go anywhere without those two meatheads – what, expecting to get mugged?"

"I could take you on any time alone," Malfoy said confidently. "Tonight, if you want. Wizards duel – no contact. Just wand. What's the matter? Never heard of a wizard's duel before, I suppose?"

"Just because I was raised by muggles doesn't make me an idiot." Harry responded dryly. He'd read about the Duelling circuit in one of the Wizarding Events books he'd bought. "Where do you want to go?"

"Midnight, in the Trophey room. The door's always unlocked?"

"How do I know you're going to be there?" Harry asked sarcastically, having guessed the answer. "I'm willing to bet you're going to take the easy way out, skip it and hope I get caught by Filch or his rotten cat."

Malfoy glared at him and said, "I swear on my magic I'll be there. You better be there too."

"Fine." Harry smirked. "Don't worry – you'll learn to eat your words."

Draco Malfoy glared at him, before tossing his head and stalking towards the Slytherin table.

"Excuse me."

Harry rolled his eyes and turned towards Hermione Granger, "What do you want?" He asked impatiently. "Can't I eat in peace without you hanging over me?"

"Well, I couldn't help overhearing you and Malfoy-"

"I bet you couldn't." Ron muttered.

""-and you _mustn't _go wandering around the school at night, think about all the points you'd loose for Gryffindor if you're caught, and you're bound to be, it's really selfish of you-"

"What makes you think I'm going?" Harry responded with a roll of his eyes. "Malfoy's a moron, I haven't known him for long but he's always talking himself into situations that he's not cut out for _or _thinking through. I have ever intention of just sleeping tonight; if Malfoy gets caught and in trouble, so much the better."

Hermione scowled at Harry, "Can't you do _anything _that doesn't involve causing trouble and dragging other people into it?"

"Does saving someone's life count?" Harry countered, standing up. He had a good inch on her. This teacher's pet was starting to get on his nerves in a permanent way. "Oh, I suppose I shouldn't have done that either because she said not to fly higher than a few feet – nevermind that not doing anything would have meant Tracy's _death. _And you got at me for making a sarcastic comment towards a teacher who was asking me a question I couldn't possibly answer to embarrass me in front of the class."

Hermione took a step backwards, eyes wide, but Harry wasn't finished, "Here's a job for you – is following the rules at the expense of someone getting hurt worth it? Because with the way you act, it's _no wonder _you don't _have any friends." _

Hermione recoiled like he'd physically slapped her with that last comment. After a second, her breath started trembling, and she bolted from the Great Hall.

Harry watched her leave, a bit startled. Any other teacher's pet he'd talked to that way had glared hatefully at him and reported him to a teacher anyway. They just got worse after that. He couldn't remember one of them looking genuinely hurt, or running away from him.

"Good riddance," Ron muttered.

Harry felt something in his stomach twist a bit; he wasn't entirely sure he shared the sentiment all of a sudden.

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Harry was walking back in the direction of the common room after dinner when he heard Daphne yell for him; he turned around to see her and Tracy heading his way. He stopped and waited for them to catch up.

Daphne hugged him, catching him by surprise. A second later she let him go, looking a little embarrassed but thankful. "I was hoping to catch you," she said. "Thank you for saving Tracy. That was amazing."

Harry smiled slightly, "No worries." He glanced at Tracy. "Can I help you with something?"

Tracy nervously approached him, too shy to meet his eyes, and said, "Har- Mr. Potter, I ...My father came in to see me and heard about you saving me...and he reminded me of this. I must acknowledge that I, Tracy Leia Davis owe you a life debt. H-how do you wish that I repay it?"

Harry glanced at Daphne in surprise and mouthed out, "_Life Debt?" _

Daphne saw this and, remembering he was muggle-raised, explained, "It's a thing in pureblood society...when you save someone's life, they're obligated to repay you in any way you desire. It could be anything from money, the deeds to land or buisness, or servitude...of both sorts," she glanced at the floor when she said this.

Harry didn't have to ask her to elaborate to guess what 'both sorts' meant. He was appalled; he may have a criminal history but it was purely petty – he wouldn't inflict that on any girl, definitely not as young as they both were. He thought for a minute.

"Well, uh...I, erm, Harry Potter, acknowledge this debt. And, well...okay, you may repay me by calling me Harry and sharing your Potions notes with me." He scowled. "That class sucks."

Tracy was astonished. She'd never seen anyone dismiss a life debt so casually, let alone a young boy who see the potential in asking a more, ahem, 'long term' arrangement. Her father had warned her of the dangers of being so indebted to a family like the Malfoy's or another similarly ruthless group, and yet Harry had asked basically nothing from her, after risking himself to save her, someone he didn't know.

She couldn't help it; she took a step forward and kissed Harry on the cheek, "Thank you, thank you... you're more deserving of the fame surrounding you than others."

Harry blushed at this; he really wasn't familiar with this kind of thing and didn't know how to handle it. "Uh, no problem. Any time."

Daphne giggled at this before saying more seriously, "On that subject, there's some dark rumours rolling around. I've been hearing people say that broom was meant for break."

"Meant to?" Harry echoed, startled. "Someone meant to kill a student?"

Both Daphne and Tracy nodded. "The story going around is that someone cursed it and laid it out, hoping for someone to pick it and fall to your death. And since all the school brooms are so worn, no one would suspect it." Daphne explained. "Many of the rumours say it was meant for you."

"What do the Professors think?"

Tracy scowled, "Professor Dumbledore just twinkled at my father when he asked that very question and said they were looking into it very carefully. But I think he does know about it, more than he's saying. It's just a feeling in my gut, though."

"Who here would want to do that?" Harry asked. "For a second, I thought of Professor Snape...but his behavior is way too obvious. He'd get himself caught."

Daphne looked troubled. "I...Professor Snape can be very harsh, but I agree – whoever did this wasn't him. It couldn't be." She shook her head. "It – It's just a rumour...we could by worrying over nothing...but what happened to Tracy was frightening, and I can't remember the school brooms, worn out as they were, behaving like that..."

"But then, who did?" Harry wondered out loud. There weren't any obvious suspects in his mind, and he couldn't think of a possible motive for killing an eleven-year-old. The thought of murder inside a school was an alarming one.

"I think," Tracy murmured, "That I'll be looking over my shoulder a lot this term."

"Good idea." Harry muttered. The student body had an enemy somewhere, and that was never a good thing. An enemy you couldn't see was much more dangerous than one you could.

%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%%&%&

_To Carrie, Pierce and Miranda-_

_Today was a bit of a roller coaster, and it's leaving me a little worried, to be honest. It started out easily enough, but during our first flying class, the broom a girl named Tracy Davis was on suddenly flew up really high, jerked around and then split in half. I'm not sure exactly what came over me, but I got my broom to fly far enough up to catch her and take her back to the ground. She's alright now, but the stories going around are what's got me awake. _

_Some people seem to think that the broom Tracy had been flying on was cursed to take her up that high, break and send her to her death. I don't put too much stock into rumours, but in the off-chance that it's true, that means there's someone here who's trying to kill a student. There's not much evidence going on it, but I'm on my toes nonetheless – the teachers are investigating it right now, but I don't know if they've turned up anything yet._

_On a less frightening note, Malfoy was stupid enough to challenge me to a wizard's duel at midnight. I made him swear on his magic that he'd be there, because I'm certain he meant not to show up and leave me to Filtch, and I have no intention of going out. I wonder if he'll get caught._

_Ow, Maria! Don't claw my stomach!_

_-Harry._

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"Has Albus Dumbledore said anything yet?" Molly Weasley asked her husband anxiously. Percy's letter home had worried her immensely. Ginny hadn't seemed to register the potential danger; she was repeating the tale of Harry's daring rescue of the Slytherin girl from certain death to anyone who would listen.

"Not yet," Arthur Weasley responded, looking at his wife with concern. "Look, Molly – it was probably just an accident. The students have been complaining about the school brooms for a while now – it's perfectly possible it was just a freak accident. The Davis girl came to no harm, and the brooms are being replaced. And if there is danger, Albus Dumbledore is Headmaster – he won't let any harm come to his students."

Molly exhaled and watched her daughter bounce in and out of the kitchen, rereading Percy's letter for the tenth time. "I hope your right Arthur."

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Astoria pressed against the handrail of the stairs, straining to hear her parents talking. She was holding Daphne's letter in one hand. Harry's heroic rescue of Tracy Davis made the boy more endearing than before and made her more impatient to get to Hogwarts, but the rumour of the attempted assassination had her desperate to glean news.

Astoria was not an idealist, mainly due to her most likely lot in life being Malfoy's wife, and there was one name that immediately came to her mind when she thought of potential targets.

Yes, Astoria was absolutely certain this was an attempt on Harry's life. She could think of several people who would want the boy-who-lived dead and had the influence to attempt it. She knew better than anyone that not all of You-Know-Who's followers had ended up in Azkaban. But who would be close enough to curse the brooms? Would her sister be safe?

The younger girl went back upstairs to write a letter to her sister, pleading caution. She hoped that there wouldn't be another incident too soon.

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Maria woke Harry early the next morning, asking for food. He had been teasing her with a little catnip when he saw Hermione Granger stumble into the Common Room, looking like she'd slept for a grand total of five hours. She was rubbing at her eyes, which were red.

Harry focused on Maria's paws batting at the green leaves just out of reach, pretending to be too absorbed in this game to notice her.

"Harry!" He was surprised to see a different distraction come in the form of Ron. He was holding his rat Scabbers while scowling down at Maria. "Can't you keep your cat from hurting Scabbers? She clawed him last night!"

"I thought you were going to keep him in his cage," Harry said distractedly. For some reason, Maria had taken an intense disliking to the old grey rat, and Ron was unhappy that she chased him everywhere.

"I forgot, okay? Besides, she's a sneaky one – she tried to push the cage off the desk once!"

"I'll do something," Harry muttered. "Come on – let's get to class."

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Harry was sitting down in Charms class when he heard some girls whispering when Hermione walked in. "I heard her crying last night," Lavandar Brown whispered. "How long do you think she slept?"

"She's not looking so good." Pavarti agreed.

The Charm they were practising that day was a levitation charm. Ron was having trouble with his feather and quickly got frustrated.

Hermione reached out and stopped his flailing arm. "Stop, stop. You're saying it wrong," she said. "It's Levi-_o_-sa, not Levio-_sa_."

Ron scowled at her. "Why don't you do it, then, if you're so clever."

Hermione pointed her wand at her father and said, "Wingardium Leviosa!" Sure enough, her feather floated off her desk and into the sky.

"Oh, well done!" Professor Flitwick said happily. "Ms. Granger's done it, see!"

Ron was in a very bad temper. "It's bad enough that she has to act like everyone's mother," he was snarling to Seamus when they were walking out of class, "the fact that she's actually _good _at it makes her _unbearable. _Why couldn't she be sorted somewhere else? She's a shrew, honestly."

Someone knocked into Harry as they picked up the pace. He saw it was Hermione – and was startled, again, to see her crying.

Something twisted in Harry's stomach, something he didn't really like feeling – guilt. Sure, she'd been obnoxious and somewhat overbearing, but he'd never driven a girl to tears before, and he wasn't very happy with the fact he finally had.

It didn't help that he later overhead Lavander saying that Hermione was crying in the girl's bathroom and wanted to be alone. She didn't show up to any of the other classes. Harry's gut feeling was getting more pronounced when he made his way to the Hall for dinner.

About halfway through the meal Professor Quirrel hurtled through the doorway, screaming "TROLL IN THE DUNGEON! TROOOL IN THE DUNGEON!"He paused. "Thought you ought to know." he promply sank to the floor in a dead faint.

There was a single crack of thunder before every child in the hall gave a collective scream of terror. Everyone dropped what they were holding and started running for the exit -

"SILENCE!" Professor Dumbledore yelled. The room fell silent, probably more out of shock than anything. "Prefects, lead your students to the towers. Teachers, follow me to the dungeon."

Percy Weasley immediately began yelling, "Gryffindors, follow me, this way!" They began filing out. Harry was headed up when something occurred to him. Something important.

He stopped in his tracks. Had Hermione heard the troll warning? The girl's bathroom was a ways away. Was she still there? There was no sign of her in the crowd. And if the troll left the dungeon...

Harry glanced in the direction of his house, then toward the back of the hall, and growled in frustration. However much Hermione had annoyed him over the past few days, being a teacher's pet did _not _warrent being left to a troll, an encounter that would most likely end in her death. Something that would be entierly his fault ( and Ron's) for putting her in that emotional state in the first place.

"Of all days to grow a conscious," he said to himself, before turning on his heel and running in the direction of the girl's bathroom.

He was halfway there when someone grabbed his arm. He turned around to see Daphne and Tracy right behind him, trying to catch their breath.

"What are you doing?" Daphne gasped. "There's a troll on the loose."

"I know." Harry said. "There's a girl – Hermione Granger – she's been in the bathroom for hours, she doesn't know about the troll – have to go get her -"

Tracy went pale. "Move, move!" She whispered. All three students hid behind a pillar. At that very moment, a massive, stone grey figure slowly lumbered from around the corner, dragging a massive club along beside it. Harry swore again. That thing was at least twelve feet tall and over two hundred pounds.

"Damn it to hell...the troll's left the dungeon."

Daphne's breath caught in her throat. " Oh no. It's going into the girl's bathroom!"

**End Chapter**

**Yes, a cliffhanger. Sorry I couldn't resist.**

**Read and Review please!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Trouble**

**Moon: Yes, a double update! I wrote chapters five and six back to back due to a brainwave. I hope you all like them! Also, there will be no Harry/Hermione. Sorry, but unless Hermione has a major change with how she views authority, she and Harry won't get along very well, even if he does save her life. I do not own Harry Potter. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 6: Troll and Cerberus**

A second after the troll disappeared, Harry, Daphne and Tracy exchanged a single horrified look. "We should get a teacher-" Tracy said as the three of them bolted towards the bathroom.

"They're too far away, won't get here in the time – please tell me one of you knows an offensive spell -" Harry said.

"I know something, but it could be dangerous." Daphne said.

"It'll have to do." Harry said, throwing the bathroom doors open.

Hermione was curled up in a ball under one of the sinks, screaming for help. The massive troll had smashed most of the stalls and one of the sinks, and it wasn't far away from her. Her brown eyes caught sight of the three of them. "Help! Please!" She cried, tears running down her cheeks.

Daphne pointed her wand at the troll's club, "Incendio!" She yelled.

The club was wreathed in fire; the troll howled in pain and anger and dropped it. It turned around to see the other three students, its beady eyes glaring down angrily at them. "Now what?" Daphne asked, sounding a little scared.

Harry thought furiously, they needed some sort of plan, "Do we know anything about trolls?"

Daphne nodded, "This one's a mountain troll. It's not very smart, but its skin is mostly spell resistant, it would take dozens of powerful stunners to knock it out. We could try a cutting curse but I'm not very good with that one..."

Harry thought about that as the troll took a menacing step forward. Then he remembered something Pierce and Carrie had always said about bigger opponents "-_never go in from the front, they'll waste you. Get behind them, go for the legs or the nose." _

"For now, we distract it. Tracy, get Hermione out of there." Harry pointed his wand and shouted, "Stupify!" The spell knocked the creature's head back but didn't have enough punch to knock it out. Sure enough, it began to follow Harry and Daphne, who ran out into the hallway.

"Where are we going?" Daphne asked.

"The stairwell!" Harry responded. "It goes down for ages; it falls far enough and it's dead!"

Daphne nodded, fear fading as adrenalin took over, "Okay. But this isn't that high up – we should lead it up a floor or two." The troll's footsteps were getting louder, so they put on extra speed.

Tracy flattened herself against the wall as the troll walked past her, going after the other two. As soon as it turned the corner she rushed over to the sink Hermione was hiding under and held out her hands. "Come on!" She said. Hermione nodded shakily and took the offered support.

Tracy was about to bolt out of the room when Hermione said, "Wait! How are they going to stop that troll?" She looked scared, "Harry's stupify didn't knock it out!"

"I don't..." Tracy trailed off when the doors exploded open. Both girls spun around to see Blaise Zabini and Dean Thomas standing in the doorway.

"Figlio di una cagna!(son of a bitch!)" Blaise yelled, staring at the burning club and the trashed bathroom in shock.

"I saw Harry run off – what happened here?" Dean asked breathlessly.

"I – I didn't realize – I – the troll cornered me -" Hermione stammered, still looking horrified, "Harry, Daphne and Tracy came in, Daphne burned its club and it's chasing her and Harry!" She wailed the last bit, "Oh god, this is all my fault what if it kills them, oh my god!"

"Smettere panico!(stop panicking!)" Blaise snapped, and then coughed. "Sorry. I speak my native language in situations like this. Which way did they go?"

"That way!" Tracy said. With that, all four students rushed down the hallway.

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Voldemort was ecstatic, well part of him was. He was pleased that the troll and the traps he had set in the dungeon were enough to distract the entire Hogwarts staff just long enough for him to get into the third floor. It was so classic of Albus Dumbledore to try and eliminate a danger to his precious pawns in full force, not even considering that it might be a trick. Or if he had guessed it, then he obviously going senile. At last, the Philosopher's Stone would be his!

"Alohamora," his servant intoned, unlocking the door that would lead to the stone.

A shouting voice broke through the silence, "Harry, I think this is far enough! It's getting closer!"

Harry...Harry Potter? Oh, this was just too good! He could eliminate the brat that had destroyed him the first time and regain his physical form in one swing! The Potter brat was just a boy, after all, there was no possible way he could be a threat to his host. There was another child out there, but it was a girl, and easily silenced.

He swept in the direction of the voice, desperate to destroy the source of his years wandering, reduced to a pathetic wraith. In his hurry, he completely forgot that he had unlocked the door.

A moment later, one massive dog head butted the door open.

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Harry swore when the staircase under his feet suddenly started moving. The troll wasn't far behind them. He looked downwards; the other staircases seemed to go on forever. "Think this is far enough?" He asked. They were approaching the forbidden part of the third floor.

"I think so," Daphne said. "Now we need to push it off the side."

They both got off the stairwell and crossed a balcony, before turning and facing the troll. It looked angrier than ever, and it approached them with it's hands over its head.

Daphne's hand was trembling on her wand, but she stood firm. "It'll take several stunning charms to knock it over." She said. "Ready?"

"I'm always ready," Harry said, watching as the troll lumbered a bit closer.

"Harry!" The troll turned back a bit. Harry saw Tracy, Dean, Blaise and Hermione all hanging back from another entrance on the opposite side of the troll.

"What are you doing!" Dean yelled. The troll looked between the packs of children, obviously struggling to decide who to go after first.

"Getting rid of the troll!" Harry shouted back. "Push it over the side!"

Blaise shot a quick look over the side of the balcony, seeing how far down it went. "Good point." He said. "That'll kill it. Come on, we'll help!"

Hermione whitened slightly when she saw the thing that had nearly killed her, but drew her wand along with the others nonetheless. They all pointed it at the troll.

"STUPIFY!"

All six spells slammed into different parts of the troll, sending it stumbling towards the railing. It let out a low growl of pain. Harry grinned. This was going to be easy.

Suddenly, there was a scream, this one unmistakably an adult. It was followed by another, which suddenly broke off with a horrible ripping noise that made Harry's spine stiffen and the hair on the back of his neck rise. Next there was the sound of chewing and bones cracking. There was a short pause – and then, a low, wolfish growl.

Everyone – troll included – turned and stared down the hallway to the forbidden corridor.

Tracy, Hermione, Dean and Daphne all screamed. Harry and Blaise were too shocked, sickened and now, genuinely scared, to say anything.

For standing in the hallway was a massive creature straight from legend and nightmare. It had three heads, all dogs, a massive torso and four huge paws that looked strong enough to crush a full-grown man into pulp. In all three mouths were the remains of Quirrel's limbs and lower torso, leaving just the bloody upper body behind. Blood pooled by its paws and dripped down its teeth. Three pairs of malevolent yellow eyes were now fixed on the troll.

The Cerberus, guardian of the gates of Hades, howled in challenge and bolted towards the troll.

"SCATTER!" Harry shouted. All six students turned and bolted for the nearest staircase to the lower floors as the Cerberus crashed into the troll, knocking it to the ground.

Daphne, who'd glanced over her shoulder, turned green and let out a sickened squeak when she saw the Cerberus rip the troll's head clean off, spraying blood everywhere.

Both Blaise and Tracy were swearing frantically and very inventively in their native languages, Hermione was screaming, Dean was yelling something at the portraits and at the Bloody Baron who'd appeared from the wall upon hearing the noise, Daphne was trying very hard not to throw up and Harry was wondering where the hell the teachers where when you needed them.

"What do we do?!" Tracy screamed over the racket. The Cerberus, evidently unsatisfied with the troll, had raised its bloody heads from the torn, savaged corpse, tracking the children.

"Why the bloody hell is it looking at us like that! We barely even qualify as bloody appetizers and it's got a perfectly good troll right there!" Blaise shouted.

"It – it- it – it's very very skinny!" Hermione stammered out, her voice pitched so high only bats would be able to hear it soon! "I – I c-could s-s-see it's ribs! It – it – it probably hasn't eaten in weeks! T-T-That's why!"

"*******. Just our ****** luck." Harry snarled. "We've got to get behind something!"

"The Armoury is on the second floor!" A nearby portrait shouted. "The doors are double-reinforced; it won't be able to get in!"

"You'll be able to barricade it when you get inside, there will be crates!" Another portrait added.

"Thanks!" Dean said. "This way!" The other students followed his lead in a mad dash down the hallway. Behind them, the Cerberus howled. The hunt was on.

The Armoury came in sight a second later. Dean and Harry got their first and immediately went to the doors. The three girls cannoned in, Blaise bringing up the rear. The Cerberus had turned the corner and was headed right for them -

SLAM! Dean, Harry and Blaise managed to shut the doors just in time. Hermione, Daphne and Tracy quickly spelled various spears and swords and ran them through the door handles while Dean and Harry activated the locks, the Cerberus slamming its full weight against the doors the whole time.

Heart pounding wildly, Harry grabbed the nearest weapon he could get his hands on – a silver sword. He held his wand in the other hand and pointed it at the door. The others haphazardly followed his lead, the girls grabbing bows and arrows while Dean and Blaise picked up spears. They stood in a semi-circle, staring at the door as the monster on the other side continued to bat at it.

After what felt like an eternity but was actually a minute, the Cerberus, barking in frustration having been denied its prey, stopped banging on the doors. Slowly, Harry and the others lowered their wands and weapons, just listening. There was heavy breathing on the other side, indicating that the huge dog was still there.

"Why won't it leave?" Hermione asked, her voice a barest whisper. It was hoarse from all the screaming she had done.

"If you hadn't eaten for weeks," Blaise whispered back, "and someone put some food behind a locked cabinet, would you leave it alone just because it was locked? I think it's going to try and starve us out."

"Well, that's all well and good," Harry said sarcastically, "but could someone care to explain _how the bloody hell there's a goddamned Ceberus in here to start with? _A _troll _was bad enough, but a _Cerberus?_"

No one had an answer to that. Hermione was shaking like crazy. "A-According t-t-to Hogwarts: A History, there's s-s-supposed to be wards in place that keep Dark Creatures out of the castle." She managed through her trembling. "I-It's sup-p-posed to be the safest place in Britain."

The two pureblood girls swapped nervous but meaningful looks. Dean looked uncomfortable. "Then...but then how..."

"Either the book exaggerates how safe Hogwarts is," Blaise muttered, "Or someone let the troll and the Cerberus inside."

"S-So that was the 'most painful death' that awaited anyone who went into the third floor corridor." Daphne whispered. "My father is going to be furious when he hears about this."

"W-Why would anyone let in a troll and a Cerberus?" Hermione asked timidly. "D-D-Do you t-t-think someone's _trying _to hurt us?"

Harry stared at the door for a minute. The Cerberus's breathing was still audible, but it was making no more attempts at the door. But there was also no sign of the teachers who had been searching the dungeons for the troll. It was completely quiet. "I think we better get comfortable." He muttered.

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"Where are the teachers?" Tracy whispered when they were all sitting against the far wall of the Armoury. It was a big room; there were old weapons stocked on the wall and duelling circles drawn on the floor. There was dust on many surfaces, indicating the room wasn't used very often. There were no windows or portraits inside. By some unspoken agreement, the unlikely group was huddled together at the back wall, wands in hand in case the huge dog managed to breach the doors after all. "It can't possibly have taken them this long to search the dungeons, and the ghosts must have heard the commotion we made, first with the troll and then when the Cerberus appeared. Why haven't they come to get us?"

There was a pause. No one had an answer to that. "Maybe whoever let the troll in also set up some traps for when the teachers came down to investigate it." Dean suggested.

"Speaking of which, how did you two know where to look for us?" Tracy asked.

"We followed the screaming." Dean responded. "I saw Harry leaving, and it took me a minute to realize Hermione was gone too. I remembered Lavander saying how Hermione was in the bathroom crying and I took off. I ran into Blaise halfway there because he'd seen you two leaving to help Harry." He glanced around. "Who set its club on fire?"

"That would be me." Daphne said, having the grace to look embarrassed. "My mother taught my sister and I a few offensive charms over the years, and that was the first one that popped into my head." She glanced at the doorway. The Cerberus had become quiet, except for the rumbling of its breathing. "My father is going to hear about this. Not just a troll, but a Cerberus? That's a dangerous breach of security if there was ever one."

"Which begs the question of how it was in here at all." Harry said. He sighed in frustration and stared worriedly at the door. "This is beyond anything I was expecting...I have to admit none of this makes sense to me."

"Let's try making sense out of it." Blaise suggested. He, too, was staring at the door. "We've got nothing else to be doing, anyway." He bit into his lip. "Wait until my mother hears about this...oh, Merlin." He shuddered, and then continued. "Okay...so, someone lets a troll into the school, and it nearly kills Miss Granger here."

Hermione could only nod meekly at this. "Somehow, I don't think you were an intended target, if that makes you feel any better." The Italian said. "So, we go find her, then we take it up to the third floor to find a way to get rid of it. Then, this Cerberus appears from the forbidden corridor, attacks first the troll and then us." There was a pause.

"First question, and I think it bears repeating – why the bloody hell is there a Cerberus inside the school to begin with?" Harry asked dryly. "I've seen some very crappy schools and detention buildings, but none of them had monsters inside them."

"Maybe to guard the school?" Hermione offered tentatively. "It's supposed to be really safe, after all, and I can't imagine anyone wanting to attack a place with a Cerberus in it."

"But if it was here to guard the school, why was it so hungry?" Dean pointed out. "It wouldn't make sense for your guard dog to be so hungry that it tries to eat the students it's supposed to be protecting."

"To keep it locked up, maybe? I've heard of Cerberus cubs being sold to purebloods for attack dogs. The treatment of them can be very inhumane, maybe this one was still feeling the affects of its earlier servitude." Blaise suggested, but then frowned, "but why in a school, where it could get at children, instead of with a trained Dark Creature handler?"

Dean blanched, "You can _buy _Cerberus cubs?"

"Only if you can cough up the money." Daphne responded softly. "There aren't very many Cerberus in the world because of how dangerous they are, and the fact they're connected to the underworld. They're exotic...having a trained Cerberus is considered a symbol of power among purebloods."

Hermione shuddered at the thought.

"Maybe it was protecting something." Tracy suggested. "That makes sense, doesn't it?"

Harry's eyes widened. "The Philosopher's Stone?"

"What?" Blaise stared at him. "How did you guess that?"

Harry looked around the group and said, "You know the Keeper of the Keys, Hagrid? Professor Dumbledore tasked him with getting something from Hogwarts...on the very day he collected me from my aunt and uncle and took me shopping for school stuff."

"Why would he do that?" Dean asked. "Show a kid a highly confidential artifact while he's getting his school stuff. Wait," he blinked, "if it was confidential, how'd you know what it was?"

"I overheard some people talking about it;" Harry muttered, cursing himself for nearly admitting to his theft with Hermione still in the room. "It's not here anymore. Someone stole it."

"What?" Hermione squeaked. "Just like that?"

"A _Philosopher's Stone_." Tracy breathed. "I hadn't thought one still existed...imagine, you could turn anything into gold, live forever...wow..." She looked critically at Harry.

"But..." Dean frowned. "Where was this Stone first?"

"Gringotts."

"Why would they move it here? If there's any place in Britain that's completely secure, it's Gringotts."

"And if it was stolen." Blaise added, "Why is the Cerberus still here? The thing it was supposed to guard never came to school."

There was a long pause as the students considered this and came to a conclusion. "It's some sort of trap." Daphne decided. "The stone was meant to be a lure, but Professor Dumbledore never admitted that it had gone mission, so whoever wanted to steal it would still come for it, and run into the Cerberus."

"Set up a trap? Inside the school? What for?" Tracy asked.

"It...it _ate _Professor Quirrel..." Hermione muttered, sounding like she was going to become hysterical again any second.

"Why was Professor Quirrel up here anyway?" Dean asked, looking shaken and green as he remembered seeing the Professor's mauled corpse. "I mean, I suppose he could have heard the racket but why didn't he come up the stairs towards us instead of walking past the Cerberus? And wasn't the door to the room locked?"

"Was _he _trying to get whatever the Cerberus had been guarding?" Blaise asked uneasily.

"... ...Do any of you think whoever wants the Stone was the one who cursed the broomstick that nearly killed me?" Tracy asked, sounding frightened by the concept.

"...Possibly. Maybe he cursed the broom and when that didn't get results, let the troll in."

"But that attacked two different people!" Daphne pointed out. "First it was Tracy, but the troll cornered Hermione. Why go after two different people? I thought for a little it might be because of pureblood dogma, but Tracy's pureblood, so it doesn't make sense that she be attacked."

"Maybe those events were meant for someone else," Blaise started, "but snapped up you two instead. Whoever's behind it has been acting indirectly and as vaguely as possible to avoid rousing Dumbledore's suspicions."

"Then who is it meant for?" Dean asked.

Harry was quiet. He'd been thinking about that, too. Sure enough, Blaise looked towards him. "I can think of someone who'd have a few people cursing his very existence." He said.

Harry let out a snort. "The worst bit about that is it makes perfect sense." He said shortly. "I blew up the Dark Lord when I was still in my cradle – I have no idea exactly how _that _worked – and Hagrid said not all of his followers were in jail. They probably hate me for the position their in as much as for destroying their boss."

Hermione made a noise of distress, "We have to tell Professor Dumbledore this – he's got to do something, or we'll all get killed."

Harry glanced towards the door. "Doesn't look like anyone's coming yet." he said. "We might as well try getting some sleep."

Tracy and Daphne both winced at the thought of sleeping on cold stone, but nodded reluctantly. They all made themselves as comfortable as possible and eventually sleep came.

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The sun was rising when Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape and Headmaster Dumbledore opened the doors to the armoury and found several students sleeping inside. Harry's right hand was touching Daphne's, his other clutching both his wand and the hilt of a sword. Dean and Blaise were there as well, lying in front of Hermione and Tracy, holding spears close by in case they needed to use them. Tracy was next to Hermione; she'd clearly been offering the girl comfort.

"They must have run here to hide from the Cerberus. Clever." Snape muttered in an attempt to distract himself from the shock of discovering the room.

Gryffindors and Slytherins, fighting together, fleeing together, safeguarding each other. There must be ice skating in Hell tonight.

"Are you sure we shouldn't tell him, Albus?" Professor McGonagall asked. She'd been frantic last night when Percy had reported three first years were missing; she'd been running around the entire night fearing the worst. Stumbling on the Cerberus had nearly given her a heart attack.

"Minvera, he's much too young to know something so terrible-"

"He's got every bloody right to know, Albus! He nearly died tonight; if he'd been any slower Hagrid's creature would have slaughtered them! Why wasn't it properly fed?"

Albus hid a wince. He couldn't very well answer with 'because I needed him to attack anyone who came in to maximize the effectiveness of the test', not after it had gotten loose.

"Besides," Professor McGonagall whispered, "We know _He _is not gone. We saw the wraith escaping Hogwarts last night. He must be ready."

Albus's merely twinkled at his Deputy Headmistress as he looked down at Harry. Inside, he was disapproving. He wasn't pleased with Harry's history or the company he was keeping. He had wanted to obliviate the three delinquents mentioned in the letter he'd received, but he did not know their names, and Harry was bound to get suspicious if they had no memory of him.

At this moment, Daphne Greengrass stirred. Slowly, she pulled herself into a sitting position, wincing as cramps hit her arms and legs. She blinked slowly and then said, "Guys? The door's open."

She said this loudly enough to wake the others; they must have been sleeping very shallowly. "Professor?" Dean asked dazedly. "Professor!"

This roused them the rest of the way; the strange group of students scrambled to their feet, dropping the weapons they had been holding. "Thank Merlin." Tracy said. "We thought no one would ever come for a little there."

Professor McGonagall fixed all six students with a frosty look. "What were you doing?" She demanded. "Why weren't you in your dormitory? You could have been killed!"

There was a short pause, and then - "It was my fault, Professor," Hermione Granger, star student, said timidly. "I – I had been in the bathroom when the troll came in, I didn't know it was there...I never heard any alarm until it came in after me. Harry had realized I wasn't with the others and came back to find me." She nodded at the startled black-haired boy. "H-Harry and Daphne lead it away when Dean and Blaise showed up, they'd noticed their missing classmates too...we were headed up the closest way to the towers when the Cerberus came...it's my fault, blame me..."

At this point both Harry and Dean were looking at Hermione in open shock, something McGonagall noted as confusing, but she was more concerned with her obviously distraught student. She turned her attention to Harry, Daphne and Tracy. "W-Well, that was very brave of you children, but you should have gone to your Prefect."

"I know," Harry said, sounding a little impatient, "But I figured the troll was still in the dungeon, and the bathrooms weren't far – I hadn't realized it was there until I saw it enter the bathrooms, and by then if I'd gone back it would have killed her by the time I returned. And everything else just kind of _happened_."

"Where's the Cerberus?" Blaise asked cautiously. "It's hungry enough that it'll probably jump on the first living prey it sees, student or not."

"The Cerberus has been removed from the castle." Snape said smoothly. "Ten points to Slytherin and-" He grimaced at this point, as though it was physically difficult to say "-and to Gryffindor for taking decisive action in an emergency. Now all of you get down to the infirmary."

Dean looked shocked, again, that Snape had actually given them points. Harry obviously decided not to push his luck and headed out, the others trailing behind him. Professor McGonagall fixed Albus with a stern look and walked out after them.

When they were alone, Snape said, "Well, that was unexpected. I thought Greengrass and Davis might follow Potter around, but other than that he's a very standoffish boy. I wasn't expecting Thomas and Zabini to go after him to." He frowned at the Headmaster. "You have no intention of telling him, do you."

"I don't know what he'd do with the information." Albus said heavily. "He's already been behaving in a dark manner..."

"You work with Mundungus Fletcher, and you have a problem with Potter's history?" Snape snorted. "You should keep better track of your plans, Albus. Potter can't be the wizarding world's savior if he's eaten by a Cerberus."

**End Chapter**

**Okay, as some of you have pointed out in the first version of this chapter I made Harry do something very OOC. I have corrected this mistake now and won't repeat it; should have been paying better attention. Where would I be without my reviewers? Thanks for saving me.**

**Apart from that, I always wanted to try and write a Cerberus chase scene. I figured it could work since I was doing things differently. Alright, next chapter deals with Daphne's father hearing about the troll, Christmas, and the Mirror. Until then!**

**Read and Review please!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Trouble**

**Moon: Alright, next chapter, kind of choppy, but it's meant to be slower than the first few. Now, I'm going to have a timeskip to summer break after the end of this one because with the Philosopher Stone not at Hogwarts, Quirrel dead and the Cerberus moved there's really not much of note that happens in year one, and I don't want to bore any of my readers. Anyway, a little more on the mystery that is Carol Winchester in this chapter, and some presents that will become important later. I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 7: Christmas, The Mirror of Ersid, The Wounded Unicorn**

Daniel Greengrass was not usually a man quick to anger or one who held onto it, but from the moment he received his older daughter's most recent letter, he'd been in a towering rage. Currently he was stalking through the hallways of Hogwarts, headed for the Headmaster's office. Lucius was right behind him. Angela Greengrass had been no less furious, and had almost insisted on transferring Daphne elsewhere, only for their daughter to plead to remain, for she had close friends here.

But none of that would would matter if Daniel Greengrass didn't get a sufficient answer for any of this. Not. One. Bit.

Dumbledore looked up from the papers he had been reviewing when he saw both Daniel Greengrass and Lucius Malfoy walk into his office. If two of them were here, something must be wrong. He put up a smile and said, "Ah, Mr. Greengrass, Mr. Malfoy, how nice to see you. Care for a lemon drop?"

Daniel slammed his hands on Dumbledore's desk, causing Fawkes to squawk in surprise. "Dumbledore, as you know I am on the Board of Governors. Tell me, why did I have to get a letter from my daughter to find out that she was nearly _eaten _by a Cerberus _within school grounds_? Not to bloody mention this was after it killed one of the teachers _and _a troll that _also _found its way into the school! I will demand a full-scale enquiry if I don't get a satisfactory answer now!"

Lucius decided to chime in at this point; anything that put Dumbledore in a bad light was going to be good for him. "One of the others involved was Tracy Davis, who nearly fell to her death earlier this month thanks to a faulty school broom," he intoned, "That would make two near death experiences for her in the same month. Frankly I'm surprised Peter Davis hasn't pulled her out. I'm thinking of doing the same for Draco."

"Please, sit." Albus said with some difficulty. Inwardly he cursed Hermione Granger for having to be rescued. If she'd just stayed at the table, he wouldn't be in this position. "I understand a few days ago that there was a serious security breach, though thankfully nothing came out of it-"

"Nothing came out of it-? Headmaster, my child could have _died, _if it weren't for Harry Potter and those other children." Daniel stormed. "Daphne told me that the starved Cerberus emerged from the very place you told the students would result in a 'most painful death'! This suggests you were _keeping _it there."

Albus cringed, his mind racing. He had to find some way of placating Greengrass without telling him the truth; his position in Hogwarts could be threatened otherwise. "My dear sir, you must understand that I've found reason to be worried this year," he said. "Over the course of the summer I received multiple threats of student harm if I didn't resign my position. I thought the presence of the Cerberus would deter any such threats from being carried out."

"Threats from who?" Lucius asked, one eyebrow raised.

"No one claimed responsibility for them," Albus responded, "I fear whoever was involved got inside the school and lowered a ward that allowed the troll in. I've patched the damage now, there's no reason Hogwarts is not safe."

"And the Cerberus?" Daniel demanded, his anger simmering.

"It has been removed from the school and placed in the Forbidden Forest." Albus replied, the classic twinkle back in his eye. "It will not hurt anyone there."

Daniel and Lucius looked at each other, words silently passing between them. At last, Daniel barked, "Alright. But understand me Albus, if I hear any more stories I'll be back, and I won't be so easily placated next time my daughter is in danger."

"The safety of the students is my top priority." Albus said calmly.

After Daniel and Lucius had left the office, Albus sighed and placed his head in his hands. That had been close. He'd be forced to curtail the 'test' he had planned for Harry this year with that ultimatum hanging over him. This was frustrating; he'd come no closer to discovering who had stolen the Philosopher's Stone or where it might be. His only consolation was that Voldemort obviously did not have it, for he had no regained his physical form.

He would have to wait to test the boy again, and he had a plan in mind. He knew that Lucius had been given something important from Voldemort and there was heavy amnesty between Harry and the man's son Draco. He would probably do something in the near future, and that would be a test for Harry.

Now, he just had to find a replacement Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher.

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November waned into December with no more life threatening incidents. The story of the Cerberus had circulated like wildfire, and other students were still talking about it even as Christmas break drew closer and closer. Dean and Blaise were more embarrassed by the attention than anything, while Hermione had retreated into the dorms where she milled over the events.

Harry, for his part, retreated from public eye as much as possible. He didn't like how much he'd been doing over the months he'd been here. While they were undoubtedly good deeds, a lot of attention wasn't something you wanted if you were a troublemaker. He just sat at a table in the common room, doing his homework and entertaining Maria. Sometimes Daphne or Tracy would come over and join him.

Draco was no more welcoming than he had been in September; he continued to pester Harry and try to get him into trouble throughout the weeks. The only time anything really came out of it was whenever Professor Snape turned the corner.

The worst bit was the replacement DADA teacher. Lockheart was easily the single most incompetent individual Harry had ever seen; he spent his detention answering the man's _fan mail, _for Merlin's sake. If anything, they were worse of now then they were with Quirrel. What did questions like _what is Lockheart's favourite colour _have to do with defence? And apparently the guy's idea of 'one of the most deadly creatures in the world' consisted of pixies, of all creatures.

Harry couldn't see how anyone this incompetent could do half the things his books claimed he could. What a waste of thirty gallons. He probably had a competent stunt double who did everything for him and he took the credit.

Eventually, winter break did come, and Harry put down his name to stay at the castle. Carrie and the others wouldn't mind; he really didn't want to return to the Dursley house now, especially not that he had real, magical friends he could interact with. Besides, he was planning to sneak out to Hogsmeade at some point this week.

Christmas morning did eventually come. Harry woke with Maria pawing his cheek, mewing happily. Harry chuckled to himself, "What is it, girl?" Maria hopped off the bed, padded to the door and then stopped, clearly waiting for him.

Harry smiled just a bit. A real smile from him, not a 'trouble' smirk or a scowl or a fake smile, was rare, as he was rarely truly happy. There had been moments of true happiness with Carrie, Miranda and Pierce, but they weren't here.

He got up and followed his kitten, who scuttled down the stairwell and into the common room, where he was surprised to see several presents waiting for him.

Harry carefully sat down and placed a hand on the nearest box, opening the letter. _To Harry, Merry Christmas. We're missing you here. -Carrie Miranda Pierce. _He smiled softly and opened the box. It was the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

"Thanks guys." He murmured. He then turned his attention to the other boxes, that were all addressed to him. He had gotten more presents today than he had in the past ten years. The one from the Dursleys was easy, just a fifty cent piece.

Harry picked another one. _Harry – this is for you. I know you're not terribly into Quidditch but I thought it would be a shame to miss out on this. -Daphne. _Inside the envelope were two pre-ordered tickets to the next Quidditch World Cup, which was far more money than Harry would have meant for Daphne to spend on him. He'd have to thank her later.

Next. _To Harry Potter – our only meeting was a while ago, but I wanted to thank you for saving my sister's life – and to ask for a chance to get to know you better. -Astoria Greengrass. _

Harry whistled. He remembered Astoria, all right. As far as Draco was concerned, she shouldn't be talking to him at all. Evidently, Astoria didn't care much for that rule. He chuckled a bit. If that was the case they would get along fine. The present in question was a book so big it could conceivably be used as a doorstopper, titled, 'The Lives of the Founders.'

He turned the book over, the cover having a colored image of all four Founders, and looked at the back. It sounded interesting; he had scant knowledge of the Founders themselves and he'd by lying if he said that hadn't intrigued him. He grabbed some paper and wrote Astoria a response.

There was another box, from Tracy. Harry opened it and saw a silver ring and some papers inside. _To Harry James Potter – I thank you for saving my daughter Tracy, and do so offer my allegiance and assistance to the Potter family so long as you are its Head. -Peter Davis._

Harry stared blankly at the paper for a long second. "Oh. Wow. Okay." He ran a hand through his black hair, something he did when he was thinking. He really had no idea how to respond to that. Having allies would be good in a strange new world, especially since his muggle friend's assistance of him would be limited by their lack of magic.

Maria had hopped up on the table and was weaving between Harry's new books as he opened his next present. It was from Hagrid – and it was a photo album. Inside were several moving pictures – the first one was that of a man and a woman. His parents.

Harry stared at the picture for a long time. He reached out and brushed his fingers against the first image of his parents that he had ever seen. His father had the same smile he did; and his eyes were the same as his mothers.

Harry made a note somewhere in his head to pay Hagrid a visit later, for giving him something so precious.

He turned through the book and came upon an image of their wedding. Lily Potter's wedding dress looked like something out of a dream. His father was there, next to her. Standing next to him was a handsome man who, judging by his position, was his father's best man. Next to Lily was a woman who bore a strange resemblance to Neville. There were others there, too, a ragged-looking guy with a weary but real smile, a smaller man next to him, and a few other women who were Lily's bridesmaids.

Harry looked down. _The Wedding of Lily and James Potter, from left down – Lily, James, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Frank Longbottom, Alice Longbottom, Andromeda Tonks._

Harry looked at the names, frowning a bit despite the very real warmth of seeing his parent's happiness. Those were a lot of people, all close to his parents. What happened to them? Couldn't one of them have taken him in, raised him in a magical world? Or at least visited him and given him some indication of their existence? Why did they leave him with his aunt and uncle, who hated magic and him and tried to pretend magic didn't exist?

Deciding to look into that later, Harry turned his attention to his last two presents. One of them was a box of chocolate frogs addressed to him from a 'secret admirer', something that baffled Harry to no end, and the other was a relatively sized box.

It was a cloak. _Your father left this in my possession before he died. Use it well. _There was no signature.

Puzzled, Harry put the cloak on over his shoulders. Maria let out a mew of surprise, and Harry looked down to see that his entire lower body had disappeared.

Harry took the coat off, heart thudding. This cloak made him invisible? This – this was priceless. The ability this gave him – wow.

He put Maria back in his room and put on the cloak. He hadn't been this excited in years. He started off into the castle.

There was a lot to look at. He went past the headmaster's office and down the halls. He threw apple cores at Flitch, who looked around wildly, yelling, as Harry swept down the hall, trying not to die laughing. He looked at the paintings and managed to get past Peeves without setting the poltergeist off.

He walked through the Great Hall and saw the handful of still at the school reading, talking and otherwise having fun. No one noticed him as he walked past.

The freedom of invisibility was something he'd never get used to. Eventually, Harry wandered down into the dungeon of the castle and went into a backroom.

Sitting in the middle of the room was a large mirror. There were words written on it that Harry couldn't read, but it was the mirror itself that he was looking at.

Reflected in the mirror was himself, a young adult with the lopsided smirk he knew he had. Standing behind him were Carrie, Miranda and Pierce. But there was also a redhead he hadn't met before, and an older Astoria and Daphne.

And in front of everyone there was a little black-haired girl with green eyes. When Harry looked at her, she smiled and waved energetically. Her eyes flashed with the same mischief as his. His eyes.

Harry stared at the mirror for a long time. This...this was a family. _His _family.

The impossibility of this weighed on his shoulders; the only thing he had wanted – something that had haunted his dreams, the one thing that had lay out of his reach – was his wish that he had a family. A real family, one that wanted him...loved him.

Love, something he'd been denied for as long as he could remember.

What was this thing?

"I see that you, like others, have discovered the delight of the Mirror of Ersid."

Harry spun around. Somehow, Dumbledore had come up behind him without him realizing it. Could he see him? Damn it! This was bad -

"It's alright." Dumbledore said in a placating tone. "I knew you'd find this place eventually – it seems to be in your nature. I know about your father's cloak."

Harry snorted, and removed the cloak that was keeping him invisible. "What is this thing?" He asked, turning his eyes back to the mirror, where the images waved at him. "What am I looking at?"

"The Mirror shows us our hearts desire." Dumbledore explained. "You, who have never known your family, see your parents alive and with you."

Harry looked sharply at Dumbledore. He opened his mouth to correct him and then shut it. For some reason, he didn't entirely trust the Headmaster, so he wasn't telling him anything important. "What do you see, Headmaster?" He asked instead.

"Me? I see a pair of thick, woollen socks." Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling.

_You're lying. _Harry thought. _I don't know why or how I know, but you're lying. _

Well. Two could play at that game. He pretended to squint at the mirror and asked, "Headmaster, who are the two men there? Aside from my parents, there's a tall, dark-haired man and a battered man with a kind smile...I've seen them before, they were at my parents' wedding. I saw them in the picture."

At this, the irritating twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes dimmed. In fact, for a moment he looked all his many years. "Ah...Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. They were close friends of your father; they went to school with him."

"Are they still alive?" Harry asked. "Why have I never met them?"

"That...that is a difficult question to answer, Harry." Dumbledore responded vaguely. "It involves the story of the war, which I will not utter here. I must warn you...it is not a happy story, either. I don't think it's something that should be told on Christmas. At a later date...I'll tell you what happened."

_What kind of answer was that? _Harry thought, frustrated. So there was something big that Dumbledore wasn't telling him involving his parent's friends. That was something to look into later.

Dumbledore returned his attention to the mirror. "Harry, I must ask that you never come down here again. The Mirror shows us what we desire, but it gives us neither knowledge or ability. Men have wasted away in front of it and gone mad from seeing something out of their reach. Come, lunch will be on soon."

Harry gave the mirror one last look. "I see. Alright."

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Much later, Harry decided that he'd go out and see Hagrid. Perhaps the half-giant would be more willing to tell him about his parents and their friends then the Headmaster, and he had probably been in trouble due to the Philosopher's Stone 'going missing'. He owed him this much.

He had been headed down the stairs when he saw Carol Winchester again. He'd been -mostly- successful in avoiding the strange girl for the past month, but what was she doing out here?

Carol paused at the edges of the Forbidden Forest, looking around worriedly, before running into the trees.

Harry followed her, a sense of unease increasing dramatically. Why was Carol going into the forest?

The Forbidden Forest didn't look particularly welcoming, especially since the sun was going down, its dying light casting twisted shadows along the roots of the trees. Harry grimaced and watched where he was putting his feet as he tried to track Carol's progress through the woods. He could hear the noise of the other occuptants of the woods in the distance. He hoped he wouldn't have to save the day. Again.

Eventually, he turned the corner and saw a pure white horse lying on its side. A horn spiralled from its head, and there was a gash on its side, silver blood spilling onto the ground.

Carol stopped and knelt next to the wounded creature, murmuring something soothing. She raised a slender hand and held it over the wound, eyes closed.

Harry took an uncertain step forward. He'd never seen a unicorn before, and he figured there was a chance that whatever had attacked this one would come back.

"Harry?"

Her voice startled him out of his thoughts. Carol didn't open her eyes, but she must have heard his footsteps. He walked closer to her, unsure, glancing at the unicorn.

"Will it die?" He asked.

Carol shook her head. Before Harry's startled eyes, the wound started to knit closed. The unicorn nickered softly, sounding much calmer then before.

Carol opened her eyes and looked at him. The stark, deep blueness of them bored into him. "No. She'll be fine."

"How'd you do that?" Harry asked.

Carol shrugged. "Healing magic has always come easily to my family. Powerful healing spells. I don't know why; it's been like this for as long as I can remember."

"...brilliant." Harry said. "That's amazing..."

Carol looked down at the unicorn, who nickered again. She and Harry stood up and watched as the unicon pushed her way to her hooves and trotted off into the woods.

Carol suddenly flinched and put her hand on her side as though it was hurting her.

Harry looked questioningly at her, "Are you alright?"

Carol grimaced, and whispered, "All power comes with a price." Her hand trembling a little bit, she turned and looked into the woods.

Before Harry could ask exactly what _that _meant, she said, "Do you know who attacked her?"

Harry blinked, temporarily derailed, "Uh...I didn't see anything come or go."

"Not any_thing_. Any_one._" Carol said. "the thing that attacked her was old, malevolent, but weak – very weak, barely alive."

Harry looked around the woods. Surely someone that weak wouldn't have been able to get far. But then how would they escape the woods? There were more than unicorns out here.

There was a prickling sensation in his scar. He raised his hand to it. Carol looked at him and then said, "Then you know?"

"Know what?" Harry was getting agitated. "Look, I got enough cryptic conversation from the Headmaster earlier, care to be a bit clearer?"

Carol frowned and said, "The person who gave you that scar was here. That's why you're feeling pain there."

There was a rushing sound near Harry's ears, and the ground beneath him seemed unsteady. "But he's dead." He said. "Voldemort's dead."

Carol flinched at the name, and the trees around them creaked threateningly. The strange girl looked around and murmured, "Dead, but not gone. That's why he attacked the unicorn. Unicorn blood will keep you alive when you are dying, but it is a cursed life, for wounding something so pure." Her eyes were distant. "That's how the troll got into the castle."

The pain in Harry's forehead was getting worse. "Agh! How could that happen? If you're dead, you're dead!"

Carol's eyes scanned the trees and widened. "He's coming. We have to go."

She took Harry's hand. The surprise of her cool skin made him blink, and the pain receded. Harry followed her as she hurried back in the direction of Hogwarts. He risked a glance over his shoulder.

There was a mass of black smoke in the nearby trees...and Harry could swear he could see someone's face.

He turned his head back and redoubled his pace, not looking back until they cleared the treeline. Harry spun around and stared into the trees. The black fog was gone.

"What the hell?" He hissed. He didn't like this at all. That was too easy. Carol was still clutching his hand, looking paler than usual. They waited another tense moment, but the smoke never appeared.

Harry let out his breath, the cold winter air swirling around them. "That was too easy." He told her.

Carol nodded, still shaking a bit from the encounter, "We should tell Hagrid what's been attacking the unicorns...they'll need to hear this."

**End Chapter**

**Again, short, but mostly fluff and a little angst. Next one will be longer and start some bridging between the muggle and magical worlds. **

**Read and Review please!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Trouble**

**Moon: Hello, I'm back with a new chapter of Trouble. Thank you once again to everyone who reviewed. this chapter shows a little more of Carrie's situation while also showing Harry around the wizarding world. I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 8: Summer Break**

Harry got off the train, Daphne right behind him, sighing. "Damn. I never dreamed I'd ever say anything like this, but I'm going to miss school." He made a face. "Yup, can't believe I just said that."

Daphne giggled. "I take it muggle schools aren't as much fun as magical ones?"

"Well, I've never been in life-threatening danger in a muggle school. And I've never been able to fly at one either." Harry said. Maria let out a squeak of protest as his trolly hit a bump. "_And_ I've never had friends my age who used magic."

Daphne nodded. "That would be different. I've never set foot in non-magical society before; I've wondered what it's like sometimes. Father would never take me there, though. He hasn't told me why, still."

Harry shrugged. He wasn't going to pretend he understood high society, muggle or magical. The pureblood families seemed to have more in common with the old nobles than he was happy with, though, that much he was willing to admit.

"Where's your family, Harry?" Tracy asked, her eyes scanning the platform.

Harry looked around until he caught sight of Carrie's blue eyes in the crowd. Sure enough, she, Pierce and Miranda were waiting right where they had dropped him off last time. He smiled and waved in their direction; "My friends are there. That's all I need."

"You will write, won't you?" Daphne asked hopefully.

Harry chuckled. "Of course, Daphne."

"Daphne!"

Astoria's slender form shot out of the crowd and ran into Daphne, nearly knocking the older girl right off her feet. She looked as pretty as Harry remembered her, though this time she was actually smiling. Her two parents appeared a moment later.

"Astoria, you're hurting my ribs." Daphne managed after a moment, causing Tracy to giggle.

Astoria released her hold on her sister and said, "I've been going mad all alone in our house, Daphne! I've been alone except for when Primrose Marcus comes over, and _you _try having only _her _for company for a few months! Your letters were the only thing keeping me from going crazy!"

"It's alright, Astoria." Daphne said, "I'm here now and you'll be going to Hogwarts with me next year."

Astoria nodded and said, "Finally! I can't wait to get Sorted; I'll be the best witch to come out of my year."

She nodded firmly and then looked at Harry. "You're Harry, right?"

"I think so, know another trouble-making black-haired boy with a lightning scar?" Carrie suggested teasingly, having made her way through the crowd to where Harry was.

Harry blushed. "Carrie, don't embarrass me please!"

"But it's true," Miranda said pointedly, causing Harry to blush again and smirk a bit.

"I suppose so," He turned his attention to Astoria. "I know I sent you a note, but thanks again for the book you sent me. It's been an interesting read."

"You're welcome." Astoria grinned. "I think the wizarding community should put some effort into bringing muggleborns up to speed on history. After all, someone can't have basic knowledge if it isn't provided for them."

There was a certain edge to that last statement, one that wasn't lost on Harry. "Yeah. I look forward to next year Astoria. I think it will be interesting."

Astoria's grin widened a bit. "Daphne. Astoria." Angela Greengrass called. "Girls, come. We should be headed home now."

Daphne nodded and turned to Harry. "I'll keep in touch, Harry." She said.

Harry smiled and, feeling a little impish, took her hand and kissed it. "See you in September." He said, grinning when Daphne's cheeks flushed. He turned his attention to Astoria and winked. "Both of you."

Astoria, looking as though she'd been handed a million gallons, winked back, took Daphne's hand and headed back to her parents.

Tracy, at this point, turned and looked at Harry. "I'll send you an owl as soon as I can, Harry." She said. "Thank you, again, for what you did for me this year." She, too, disappeared into the crowd.

Harry nodded. After a moment, he turned and gave all three of his friends a hug.

"Hey Trouble." Carrie said, ruffling his hair. "We missed you."

Miranda glomped onto him and picked him up, much to his displeasure. "I've been so jealous of you; there's a lot going on in that school."

Pierce gave Harry his hug before raising an eyebrow, nodding as Carol passed Harry by with a soft goodbye, said, "Three girls?"

Harry looked indigently at his friend, "Hey, I like having intelligent conversation! I can't help it if my friends are all girls! That's just how it works! Besides, I'm on friendly terms with Dean and Blaise. I told you about them."

Pierce just laughed and said, "Whatever you say, Trouble. Let's go home."

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Carrie carefully rolled her father's car into the back driveway and got out quickly, saying, "We better not hang around. Dad's been winding up for an explosion for hours now, and my brothers will be home any moment. If he finds out I borrowed his car I'm dead meat."

Miranda said a word that would have made Miss Cope wash her mouth out with soap and scrambled out of the car, Harry and Pierce on her heels. Harry collected his things and they had just turned crept past the alleyway when there was an enormous crash inside the house.

"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?" A voice in the house bellowed. Carrie's father. His voice was loud, and his words were slurred a bit, suggesting he'd been drinking.

"Too late," Carrie muttered, "Damn it."

"I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU TO TURN UP FOR HOURS NOW! WHAT DID I TELL YOU WOULD HAPPEN IF YOU SPENT ANOTHER NIGHT WASTING ALL MY MONEY ON ALCOHAL, YOU WORHTLESS WASTRALS?"

The group got to the other end of the hall when Carrie swore viciously and stumbled backwards. "Ow!" Miranda protested.

"Leslie's still on the front lawn," Carrie hissed. Harry peeked around the corner. Sure enough, Carrie's college-age brother was still standing on the front lawn, staring into the house, clearly debating whether or not to catch up with Mark.

"-DISGRACE TO THE FAMILY, YOU TWO PATHETIC LAYABOUTS, WASTING YOUR LIVES WHILE I SLAVE AWAY TO SUPPORT YOU-"

There was another mighty crashing noise, causing Carrie to cringe. She was starting to look desperate, muttering _"shit, shit, shit_" over and over under her breath.

Harry grimaced. He wasn't allowed to use his magic outside school until he graduated or his wand would be snapped, so his ability to defend Carrie should her father get violent again was handicapped by his size and strength. Sure, there was four of them as Miranda and Pierce would undoubtedly help, but Miranda (the tallest) was half the size of Mr. Fawkes, and that put them at a serious disadvantage.

The words 'between a rock and a hard place' hadn't been so literal since his encounter with the Cerberus.

"-LIKE YOUR SISTER. WHERE THE HELL IS THE LITTLE BITCH? IF SHE'S BROKEN THE CAR AGAIN, I'LL HIT HER SO HARD SHE WON'T BE ABLE TO WALK STRAIGHT FOR A WEEK!"

"Should have taken the train," Pierce muttered under his breath, watching the window in alarm.

"Where the hell is my mother when I _actually _need her?" Carrie groaned as Leslie began to look around for her. "What the hell happened? Usually he reserves himself to condescending put downs and self-righteous 'orders'!"

Harry wordlessly opened his trunk and dug out his invisibility cloak. Maria's fur fluffed up to twice her usual size at the racket going on. She had scrambled out of Miranda's hands and was standing in front of Harry, hackles raised. "Carrie, put this on." Harry muttered.

"What?" Carrie demanded, staring at the cloak.

"It's the invisibility cloak I told you about, now hurry up!" Harry whispered. "Pierce, Miranda, go out the back, meet at my place, go!"

The Collins siblings took one look up at the window where Mr. Fawkes's voice was coming from and they both bolted in the other direction. Harry threw the cloak over himself and Carrie just as Leslie turned the corner.

Leslie stared into the alleyway and shouted, "Carrie! I saw you a second ago, get the hell over here! Ugh, don't be selfish you idiot, dad's already gone spare! Come here! Now!"

Maria snarled and rushed at Leslie, flinging herself at his legs. Leslie let out a shout of anger and pain as she sank her teeth into his skin. Harry and Carrie hurried down the alley and passed Leslie, who had tripped and fallen over, Maria viciously clawing at him.

Once they were clear of the driveway Harry whistled. Maria ran after him after raking her claws over Leslie's cheek, leaving the older drinker cursing and shouting, "damn cat! Get hit by a car!"

Harry didn't relax until they had turned the corner and reached the Dursley's house and out of sight and earshot of Carrie's house. At this point, he took the cloak off.

Carrie immediately collapsed on the front steps and buried her face in her hands.

"Carrie?" Harry asked cautiously.

"Not now," Carrie said in a tone that warned any listener of her fraying emotions. Further pushing often got poor results. Harry stopped talking. Maria rounded the corner after them, mewing, some of Leslie's blood still on her whiskers. She sat down and looked worriedly up at Carrie.

A minute later, they were joined by Miranda and Pierce, who were out of breath. "Holy hell." Pierce said, aghast, staring back in the direction of Carrie's house. "I can't remember the last time he was that bad..."

"He's always that bad...he just doesn't let anyone see it..." Carrie spat, her knuckles whitening as she buried her fingers in her hair.

"What do we do?" Miranda asked.

"Nothing." Carrie growled. "If I thought I could do anything I would have done it years ago. I don't know if it's because he's paying people off or what, but he never gets in trouble. He keeps talking to my mother's 'friends' whenever there's a problem."

Harry's jaw locked. He had known Carrie's family wasn't very friendly for years, but he hadn't realized exactly how bad it was before this.

"Does he hurt you?"

Carrie didn't move her hands or look up. "Sometimes. Only when I've done something to really piss him off. Otherwise he and mum enjoy playing 'holier than thou' way to much to stoop to that. It makes them better and more in control than me, you know."

Harry's fingernails sank into his hands hard enough to draw blood. If it weren't for the underage magic restriction, he would have unloaded every spell he had learned into Mr. Fawkes and his house.

Maria padded over to Maria and nuzzled her knee, mewing in distress. Miranda groaned and glanced around the street. "I would invite you to our house," she said, "But mum tossed me out for the day after hearing about my stealing her necklace."

"Wouldn't work anyway," Carrie muttered. "I give it ten minutes before Leslie and Mark start searching the neighbourhood for me. I need to put some distance between them and me. I'll go break a store window or something. At least Juvie offers protection."

Harry thought for a minute before saying, "No." This got Carrie to finally look at him. There was pain and defeat in her eyes, and that only served to make him angrier. "We're going to Diagon Alley."

"What?" Miranda and Pierce chorused, looking shocked.

"I thought you said that muggles weren't supposed to interact with magic." Pierce said. "Doesn't the Ministrywhatsit mindwipe us if we see magic?"

"Parents of magical children are allowed to help buy their equipment for next year." Harry responded. "If anyone asks, you're all my older siblings, and we're hanging out there because our parents are out of town."

He grabbed his trunk. "Come on. I know where the entrance is."

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Harry had known that fame has its advantages during his first year at Hogwarts. He was fairly certain that no self-respecting hotel owner was going to turn him away if he asked for a room, or question his friends.

He had walked with purpose through the streets and back to the Leaky Cauldron. His muggle friends had endlessly gaped at everything they saw, it was so unreal to them. The nice thing about being in a magical society was that he got to use magic here, and he highly doubted that the Dursleys were very troubled by his absence from the house – he had left a note explaining where he was.

Harry walked up to the bartender, Tom, and asked for a room. He put on a big production of sad eyes and saying how much he missed the magical world after spending so long muggle, so could he please stay here for a while?

Sure enough, Tom was floored by this and gave him and his friends a room without a second thought.

Harry lead them upstairs and into his room. It was fairly big, and had four beds. There was a mirror, a chandelier and a desk there too.

Miranda wandered around the room, staring at the ceiling.

Carrie simply sat down on the edge of the nearest bed and finally said, "Harry...this is amazing."

Harry raised an eyebrow at his friend. "That's all? You're usually much more articulate than that," He said, in a gently teasing tone of voice.

Sure enough, Carrie gave him an indigent look far more like her usual personality. "Well excuse me for being a little at loss for experiencing magical community for the first time, smart-aleck!" There was a pause, and then everyone in the room chuckled. "But seriously Harry, it's like a living dream."

Harry shrugged. "It's not perfect – I mean, I haven't seen any wizard use a TV. Could you imagine that?"

Pierce gave a mock shudder. "A society without Breaking Bad or Criminal Minds? That's absurd! How are kids supposed to entertain themselves?"

"They don't have electricity either," Harry deadpanned, enjoying the utterly appalled look Miranda gave him at this tidbit of information. "It's funny actually, I've heard a few wizards talking about the muggle studies course, and apparently they think our last great creation was the 'horseless carriage'."

That did it. Carrie cracked and broke down laughing, Pierce right behind her. Miranda buried her face in her hands with an exaggerated despairing look.

"The car, our latest great creation? What about the computer or the nuclear bomb or the mobile phone? When was the last time that teacher went into a muggle society?" She asked the world in general.

"Who knows?" Harry said. The four of them chuckled. "But in all seriousness," he said, looking around his friends. Their laughter quieted.

"I listened to some muggleborns talking about their newness to the magical world. It's like they're expected to cut their ties with muggle life and move into the magical world. Like you can't have a foot in both worlds."

Pierce frowned. "You said in one of your earlier letters that the Malfoy kid called Granger 'mudblood'. You said that was a slur against those who don't have two wizarding parents. Maybe the first years are just trying to prove that they deserve their magic."

"Maybe." Harry said. It was possible, but he wondered if that sentiment ran deeper than just that. Muggles had prejudices and expectations; there was a good chance that wizards had their own strange expectations of how society should operate. Something that involved 'no muggles'. But maybe he was just expecting the worst from people – he had become accustomed to doing so.

"How long do you think it will take your father to cool down?" Harry asked Carrie. She scowled at the reminder.

"Probably more than a week." She said with a groan.

"I'll go to Gringotts and pay for that." Harry decided. "You guys can hang out in downtown London if people start to get suspicious. We'll met every evening. We'll...see an opera or something."

Miranda smiled. "Cool."

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Harry felt there was something satisfying about waking up each morning in the Leaky Cauldron, surrounded by wizards. He eventually decided it must have been the feeling of belonging, where his magic was welcomed, not despised. Where people looked on him with adoration and amazement rather than suspicion and spite.

He relished being able to use magic for even little things – he spent and entire morning just levitating his trunk to and fro. Pierce had been rather sore with him after Harry had levitated the chair he'd been sitting in three feet in the air without warning, to the laughter and cheering of his sister.

He used lighting charms to stay awake at night, reading and practising his summer homework with Carrie, who hung onto his every word long after Miranda and Pierce had fallen asleep. He read about Grindlewald's rise to power and his defeat; something that creepily coincided with the rise and fall of Nazi Germany. Harry wondered if there was a reason for that, or if it was just a coincidence. Carrie said she didn't believe in coincidences.

Getting the hang of basic transfiguration put a grin on his face that nothing could erase; he would transform every match he saw into a needle just for the sake of it.

He toured Diagon Alley for hours every day; he would grab a copy of the Daily Prophet and head to a cafe where he'd have a butterbeer to start off the day. The paper covered news, sports and advice columns much like muggle newspapers. There really was so much for him to catch up on.

Wizards had theatre, too. One of the most popular plays was 'The Lion and the Snake', which Harry took to be the story of Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin.

Harry still wasn't used to having the money to buy things – he had already snuck into a cafe by the back door when he put his hands in his pockets and they touched gallons. That had been embarrassing, though thankfully he hadn't been in too much trouble.

Despite the very real fun he was having Harry had an underlying sense of hostility and unease inside Daigon Alley. On one of his days he'd seen a young muggleborn literally tossed out of a shop, the owner saying that he didn't cater to mudbloods. Not a single person close enough to hear the words commented on it.

So the blood prejudice wasn't limited to school. Harry watched this scene and considered his own status. Outside of being the boy-who-lived, his father was pureblood and his mother was the first witch in her family. That would make him half-blood, and his father a 'blood traitor'. A rather tenuous position to be in – and he had already made powerful enemies.

Harry put his hands in his pockets and watched the muggleborn as he stumbled to his feet, looking hurt and angry and confused, before walking away.

"Ridiculous, isn't it? The way they're treated?"

Harry blinked and glanced over his shoulder. Astoria Greengrass had walked up behind him while he was watching the scene, arms crossed. "I think so," He said. "Nearest comparison I have for that is Jim Crow in the USA."

When Astoria looked confused, he remembered she didn't know much in the muggle world or its history. "Jim Crow was a series of laws that deprived people with dark skin of the rights given to their light-skinned counterparts. They couldn't eat in certain restaurants, were restricted to 'black' fountains or schools, had to sit at the back of buses, couldn't hold well-paying jobs, things like that. Those laws were lifted only a few decades ago."

Comprehension dawned in Astoria's eyes. "I see." She looked out at the scene. "Since Albus Dumbledore became the Chief Warlock of the Ministry, there haven't been any actual laws forbidding certain things of muggleborns. There doesn't have to be. It's long-held opinions and standards that muggleborns are less than purebloods."

Harry turned his head towards her. "What do you believe?"

Astoria glanced at him, her green eyes bright with intelligence. "I believe that purebloods think they still have power that they don't possess anymore." She said. "There are fewer ancient families than at any point in history, because they've been destroying themselves over power grabs and petty grudges. The muggleborns outnumber us, at least in Britain."

"You read statistics?" Harry said, not bothering to keep the surprise out of his voice. That wasn't something he would have thought a young noble girl would have been interested in.

Astoria nodded. "It fascinates me. Besides, I think knowledge of the world and society as a whole is very important to have. A distorted vision of the world is more likely to kill you than an Auror."

Harry put his hands in his pockets and turned to face her, lips quirked. "That's a very political opinion to have, Astoria."

Astoria gave him a challenging smile, "Does that surprise you? We're not all like Malfoy, you know."

"I figured, but I had never had a conversation with one." Harry remarked. "Aside from Daphne, anyway, and she didn't seem terribly interested in politics."

Astoria nodded. "Daphne wants to be an Auror. I don't think our father is very happy with either of our career interests, but he loves us too much to object." She scowled. "Except for giving me to Malfoy's son when I come of age."

"Not that it's any of my business, but why the Malfoy's?" Harry asked. "I've 'talked' to Draco and he doesn't seem like a very pleasant individual."

Astoria snorted. "I know. My parents aren't staunch pureblood believers, but they seem to think that I should marry someone 'worthy' of me. Malfoy was the first one to offer, and he is rich, if nothing else. It would give me a secure future, mother says." She snorted. "As if I would want to trade my common sense for gallons."

"Here here," Harry said feelingly.

"Draco's father Lucius unnerves me, as well." Astoria shuddered a bit. "There's something about him that just feels off, and he touches his right forearm whenever someone mentions You-Know-Who."

"Strange," Harry agreed, his eyes darkening. He didn't like the implications of that. "Fancy running into you here, Astoria. What brings you out? Is Daphne with you?"

"She is. She's shopping right now; I'd already gotten what I wanted and went outside. I'm just waiting to do my Hogwarts shopping." Astoria said. "I admit I was surprised to see you here, too. I had thought you'd be staying with your muggle relatives."

Harry snorted, "Are you kidding? They were glad to have a reason for me to be out of the house and I was glad to take it. Actually, I'm here as a favour for a friend of mine – she needed to get out of her house and I paid for the hotel room. I also wanted to reconnect to magical society, so it kills two birds with one stone."

"Was that the blonde girl from the station? Carrie, right?" Astoria asked. Harry nodded. "She seemed smart. Is she a relative of yours?"

"In everything but blood." Harry responded with a smile. "She's always been there when I needed her."

"Astoria, I kind of lost you in the store! I was wondering – oh, hello Harry." Daphne had appeared from her store at some point during their conversation. "How's Diagon Alley?"

"Like a dream." Harry responded. "How's your summer going?"

"Slowly, Astoria here has been driving me up the roof asking questions about Hogwarts." Daphne said. Astoria gave her sister a scowl. More seriously, Daphne asked, "Have you gotten any of my letters? I sent you some, but I never got your response."

Harry frowned. "They didn't reach me, Daphne. It might be because I haven't been at my guardian's house; something came up and I've been renting a room at the Leaky Cauldron. I'll be sure to check at home."

"Thanks." Daphne said. "Lord, I hope Headmaster Dumbledore doesn't have that Lockhart idiot from last year called back for Defence Against the Dark Arts. That was an utter disaster; I'm going to be two years behind in Defence at this rate."

"Don't hold your breath," Astoria muttered, "I've heard that the job is jinxed and practically no one applies for it."

"Jinxed?" Harry repeated. "Shouldn't Dumbledore be able to remove a jinx?"

"It's probably a powerful one, if it exists at all." Daphne said. "It might take long, delicate work to get rid of, especially if it's tied to the school's wards."

"We'd be better off teaching ourselves if he calls Lockhart back," Harry scoffed. "He might as well have asked Paris Hilton to teach us defence, it wouldn't have made a difference. At least we'd have something to look at." When both girls looked blankly at him, he said, "She's a muggle celebrity."

"Oh," Daphne said.

There was a crack, and a small creature wearing a toga tea towel appeared next to Daphne. "Missus's Daphne and Astoria must head home now." She said in a squeaky voice.

Harry jumped. "What's that?"

"House elf," Astoria explained, "They're basically little creatures who serve as servants to the family they're bound to." She paused. "Father's probably asking for us, Daphne."

"Probably," Daphne said reluctantly. "Goodbye Harry; I suppose I'll see you next on the train to Hogwarts."

Harry nodded. "It was nice to talk to you both." He said. "See you at school."

Astoria grinned again and nodded. Both girls followed the house elf down the street and vanished around a corner.

Harry put his hands in his pockets and headed back in the direction of the Leaky Cauldron. He had a lot to be thinking about.

**End Chapter **

**Okay. That's me setting groundwork for how Harry will later deal with pureblood mania and such. **

**Now, I admit I'm a little worried about next chapter because it introduces Ginny. Now, I'm aware that a good many fans have strong feelings about her. But I mean to give Ginny much different development from what she got in the series. If you're willing to be patient with me, I think (I hope, anyway) that you'll like what I do with her, because it will be avoiding/cutting out several common complaints with her (everyone's suddenly calling her hot, she's a whiz at Quidditch, she doesn't interact with Harry enough, etc) I'm going to do something to her in her first year that will change how she grows up. Please, give me (and Ginny) a chance!**

**Review please!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Trouble**

**Moon: Hello everyone, I'm back. Now, grammer notes - for some reason, I've been spelling galleons and gallons. Thanks for pointing that out - I'm used to using a very small computer, and I had to have my old one replaced. the bigger keypad is making me prone to typos, and I don't always catch them all. I do not own Harry Potter. **

**Chapter 9: Dobby's Warning, Back to School**

All too quickly, July turned into August, and Harry, Carrie, Pierce and Miranda returned to Little Whining. Very reluctantly. Thankfully, Mr. Fawkes was in much better temper then when they had bolted, so he only scowled and berated her for going off on her own. Much better than the alternative.

Harry returned to the Dursley's house, which was feeling more like a prison than ever before. He was nastier to the bridge club than ever before when they went to his house, resulting in many threatening to stop coming to meetings if Petunia didn't keep him away from their tables. So he spent most of Tuesdays and Fridays on the roof.

He got into more fights with Dudley and his groupies, which he noticed to his cold delight were going more badly for Dudley these days – he was learning to separate the group and fight them one at a time.

He tore up Petunia's garden one day when he was in a particularly vindictive mood. This, of course, only served to make his aunt and uncle angrier and angrier with him, to the point where Petunia ordered him to stay in his room at all times except mealtimes.

Of course, Harry used his cloak to get outside when he was starting to go crazy, but opening his door and finding him not there only made Vernon tighten security more and more. He was one incident away from putting prison bars on Harry's windows. It was being more like prison than the actual prison had been.

A few days before he was scheduled to go to Hogwarts, Uncle Vernon pulled him aside and told him that a business associate from Grunnings would be coming to their house. "I'm warning you," He said firmly, "I won't have your delinquent behaviour ruining my chances of promotion."

Harry rolled his eyes.

"Don't give me that attitude!" Vernon blustered. "I mean it. This is a very important meeting, and it could change a lot around here. You've never been grateful for everything we've done for you -" _Like what? _Harry thought scornfully "-but even _you _can understand how important this is to me."

"Into your room, for the rest of the day. You just stay in your room and pretend you don't exist – and if that bloody cat makes a single peep, I'm throwing her out. Understand?"

"Yes, Uncle Vernon," Harry said with as much sarcasm as he could put into that word.

Vernon scowled angrily and shoved Harry towards the stairs. Catching himself by the bannister through long practice, Harry walked up the stairway and into his room. Once he was inside, he let out an angry growl.

He'd love no more then to mess up Vernon's meeting – preferably with paint guns, pinatas and glue – but he was worried about Vernon following through with his threat of throwing Maria out of the house. He could keep her in the back yard and feed her there, but there were vicious stray dogs in Surrey and he didn't want her vulnerable to them.

It was always frustrating when he didn't have the freedom he had gotten used to after years of lawbreaking. Harry felt like a caged bird more and more every day he spent inside Privet Drive, and it was threatening to drive him out of his mind. Trying to play by the many, many rules the Dursley's had after disregarding them for years felt like someone had attached weights to his shoulders.

Why obey the rules? Because if he was in Juvie for too long, he would miss the Hogwarts train. And they had realized it. That was the worst of it.

Adding to his unhappiness and cabin fever was the fact that, for some reason, Daphne and Tracy's letters weren't reaching him. Something or someone was cutting them off, and if Harry hadn't been a virtual prisoner in Privet Drive, he would have gone looking for whatever was causing it.

Harry slammed his door shut as hard as he could to vocalize his displeasure with this. His window was still open, so he could always climb down the side of the house – something he had done many times before when confined to his room. He put some food and water in a dish for Maria and grabbed his Hogwarts bookbag.

Maria scampered over to the windowsill when Harry had halfway climbed out of it and mewed pitifully.

"I know," Harry told his irate cat. "I hate it too. But those dogs are getting worse, and you're one of four things that makes this prison even marginally bearable. I don't want you getting hurt."

Maria yowled in displeasure, causing Vernon to roar from somewhere down stairs, "I told you to shut that cat up!"

Harry gave an angry snort, stroked his cat's head and swung his feet out over the side. He grabbed onto a nearby tree branch and swung onto it, ignoring the smaller branches that swatted at his face. From there he climbed to the ground with practised ease.

Harry retreated to the far end of the Dursley's back yard, taking a deep breath of cool September air. He opened _Advanced Charms _and started reading. The fact that he couldn't preform any magic around the Dursley's wore on him. The Underage Restriction rule was absolutely absurd; how was a muggleborn supposed to keep up if they couldn't cast any spells over the summer?

Then again, it was probably lucky for Dudley that it did exist, or Harry would have hexed him half to death weeks ago, to hell with any consequences. That mini killer whale had given it his all to make Harry's life as miserable as possible. Harry was getting to the point where he wouldn't mind having his wand snapped if it meant _hurting _that brat. The unfairness of his situation roared in his ears whenever Dudley punched him or took his food.

Hogwarts would be an eventful school, if last year was any indication. Harry wondered if the Headmaster had stowed away any more killer dogs and trolls this year. Yes, he had managed to survive that the fist time, but that was mostly because there had been a floor between them, and all six of potential victims were fast runners.

And in any case, wouldn't Granger's parents have complained that their daughter had almost died? Harry wondered about that. There hadn't been any outward signs that someone had commented on the hellhound being inside school. If that had been Dudley in that position, Petunia and Vernon would have been raising all kinds of hell.

The wizarding world must really operate differently from the muggle one.

Harry's eyes skimmed the second year spells when suddenly there was a popping noise. He looked up from his textbook and swallowed a yelp of surprise.

Standing in front of him was a small, battered creature identical in all but gender to the creature that had picked up Daphne and Astoria when he'd seen them at Diagon Alley. A house elf.

"Dobby has found Master Harry Potter!" The little creature said in a loud voice. Harry's head snapped to the right, sure his insufferable neighbours John and Olive would overhear the creature. But nothing stirred at their window.

"Quiet!" Harry barked. "Who are you? How do you know my name?"

The House Elf nodded jerkily, like he was in physical pain. Harry wondered what was wrong – had he sprained his back or something? He was pretty sure any creature shouldn't move like that.

"Dobby knows that Master Harry Potter is a great wizard...Dobby is a mere house elf, sir. But Dobby must tell you something..."

"Tell me what?" Harry asked, putting his textbook aside. "Look, my aunt and uncle are not very receptive of magic and magical creatures-" he looked Dobby over critically. "And right now isn't exactly the best time-"

"Oh, of course, sir, Dobby understands...but Dobby must tell you...it's difficult to say, sir..." the elf was trying very hard to tell him something, but it wasn't being very clear.

Harry couldn't help it; his impatience and confusion got the better of him. "Okay, sit down and tell me what's wrong, then."

"S-S-Sit down?" Dobby stammered, looking at him in shock. Before Harry's stunned eyes, he suddenly ran into the fence head first. And then he did it again.

"Bad Dobby! Very bad Dobby!" The elf shouted.

Alarmed, Harry jumped to his feet. "Hey! Hey, stop that!" He grabbed the elf before he could hammer himself again and pulled him away from the fence. "What was that?"

"Oh, Dobby is being a very bad elf, sir. Dobby must punish himself very severely for coming to see you-"

"Why?" Harry demanded, feeling the beginnings of a migraine headache coming on. Why couldn't anything around him make sense?

"Because Dobby is disobeying his master, sir." Dobby said, wringing his tiny hands with such violence Harry half expected them to dislocate. "Dobby is disobeying orders, house elves must always obey their masters."

"Master?" Harry echoed. "Wizards have _slaves_?"

"Oh no sir, house elves are a bound race. We are supposed to serve our families." Dobby said frantically. "No matter what, sir!"

"Well, who is your family? Your master?" Harry insisted. Most decent punishments didn't involve doing something that could potentially give you a concussion.

"M-M-M-M-Master is...m-master is..." Dobby's voice was shaking worse than every before. He was obviously terrified and thinking of what his master would do if he found out about this. "Master is M-Master Lucius Malfoy, s-sir."

"Malfoy?" Harry echoed. "As in Draco Malfoy?"

"Draco Malfoy is Young Master, sir." Dobby said unhappily. "Dobby is bound to serve them."

"...So there's something Malfoy doesn't want me to know?" Harry guessed. That he could believe. "Alright Dobby...what is that?"

"Master Harry Potter must not return to Hogwarts this year!" Dobby exclaimed. Once again, Harry winced at his volume.

Not go back? Stay at Privet Drive all year? There mere thought nearly made Harry physically ill. "Why not? Why shouldn't I go?" He asked.

Dobby merely groaned, grabbed one of Harry's textbooks and began beating himself over the head with it.

Harry's nerves, already on end, wouldn't tolerate this. "No! No, stop that! Give me that. And be quiet!" He wrenched the book out of Dobby's hand. Dobby ceased his wailing, probably because Harry had given him direct orders, and stared up at the young wizard as though he had lost his sanity. "Listen to me! Tell me why." Harry ordered.

"Because-" Dobby swallowed. "B-Because the Heir will be back at the school!"

"The Heir?" Harry repeated, mind racing. Dobby's jaw locked shut, clearly it was too much for the elf to continue any further.

The Heir...that could mean a lot of things, and none of them that obvious. He remembered his history book of the Founders. Was one of their Heirs coming to the school? That was probably it; pureblood wizards liked to pride themselves on how far back their bloodlines went – it was possible there was a direct descendant from at least one of the Four still alive. But why would he or she be a danger?

"Y-Y-Yes, sir...that is why Harry Potter must not go back to Hogwarts..." Dobby said, his voice shaking.

Harry set his jaw. There was no way he was going to let some brat drive him away from the one place he had been completely accepted because of fancy ancestry. He was _not _trading Hogwarts for Stonewell and an entire bloody year unable to use magic, stuck with the Dusleys.

But somehow he had to convince Dobby to let him go. "Dobby. You're afraid of your Master – no, _don't _hit yourself, just listen."

Dobby had made to punish himself – again – and only stopped when told to, looking up at Harry in confusion.

"You shouldn't have to be afraid of him," Harry went on. "So let's say this – you let me go back to Hogwarts, and I will find a way to have Malfoy declare _me _you master. How does that sound?"

Dobby stared at Harry with abject disbelief. "M-M-Master Harry Potter would d-do that f-f-for Dobby, sir?"

"Of course." Harry said, with a roll of the eyes. "I take good care of the people who are nice to me. Just let me go to school and I'll take care of things."

"Master Harry Potter sir is very great indeed! But Hogwarts will not be safe! Master Harry Potter must not go back to Hogwarts!" With that, Dobby snapped his fingers and disappeared.

Harry let out a sigh and leaned back against the trunk of the tree. This was already shaping up to be a repeat of last year. _Damn it. _Well, if he was careful – and clever – there should be no reason he wouldn't be able to escape unscathed. After all, he'd been in bad fixes before. He was going to be fine.

Right?

**Time Skip**

Ginny Weasley shuffled through her second hand trunk, second hand robes and second hand books and put a lot of effort into hiding her current emotional turmoil. The ghoul in the attic was making more noise than usual, but she had grown accustomed to ignoring him.

_If only my mum had been willing to buy me a new robe, _she thought sadly.

Of course, her family's lack of money was nothing new to her – and this was going to be her first year at Hogwarts! - but she recalled Ron's many, many letters complaining about people taunting and tormenting him about being poor. Mostly perpetrated by that rotten Malfoy character, if his raging comments were anything to go by.

No, Ginny was worried that if she came to school looking completely second-hand, no one would want to be friends with her. And she had never had friends, beside Luna anyway. And Luna wasn't always easy to understand. Lack of money went hand in hand with loneliness as far as she remembered. If only there was _something_ she could do to help her family.

She'd begged her mother to buy her at least one new textbook, only to be turned down, repeatedly. She gae a familiar phrase – _when you're father's next payment comes, we'll see. _But their father never made very much, because few people at the Ministry took him seriously due to his fascination with muggles.

Ginny often walked out to his garage and watched while he tinkered with muggle gadgets and batteries, wondering how they worked. She had never been in the muggle world, and with all her father talked about them it was beginning to interest her as well.

But it was no mystery that this was why he wasn't payed so well – his boss didn't share his enthusiasm for their unmagical counterparts.

Luna could see her unhappiness and tried to cheer her up, in her own way. Thus, Ginny ended up spending several hours on a Wackersprout hunt. While it left her tired, and they didn't find any, it had the effect Luna wanted – Ginny was in better cheer when she went home. Her friend was strange, but she was very kind.

Finally, her first day of school drawing nearer and nearer, they went do Diagon alley.

Most – if not all – of Ronald's complaints about Draco Malfoy rang true when they ran into the boy and his father, Lucius, after buying their new Lockhart books – the ones she'd be needing for defence. They were much more expensive than her mother would have liked.

Lucius Malfoy had come up behind them at some point and had immediately pulled out one of her old books. He berated her father for being involved with the raids the Ministry was doing, and commented on their lack of money. Ginny opened her mouth to say something only for Percy to elbow her in the ribs.

Her father urged them to move on, but Ginny could feel Lucius's eyes on her in a way that made her feel dirty.

He had no idea what their life was like! Ginny fumed internally as she violently shoved her books into her trunk, still dwelling on that moment. Lucius had _inherited_ the fortune he loved to flaunt around so much. He was handed everything he could want while her father – a much _better _man – had to struggle to keep what they had. What kind of justice was that?

She wanted to rip her hair out or break something. The more she thought about it, the more trapped she felt.

She let out her breath. Was it not fair of her to wish her father made more money? He already worked so hard to get them what they had. What right did she have to demand more of him?

She sat back on her knees, though the soles of her old shoes dug into her skin painfully. Her fingers worked their way through her long red hair. Stop thinking about them. _It's just making you upset, and there's nothing you can do about it. _

Instead she thought about Hogwarts. Her entire family was in Gryffindor. There was no reason the hat would put her anywhere else, right? Would her parents be angry if she was sorted somewhere else? Most of her siblings had a die-hard hatred of Slytherin, and Percy and Ron seemed to think very little of Hufflepuff. Ravenclaw wouldn't be that bad, she thought, but she wouldn't count herself as particularly clever.

Her heart thudded in her chest. Oh dear, what if she _wasn't _sorted into Gryffindor? Would her parents stop loving her? Would her siblings hate her? Would it be because there was something very wrong with her, that the teachers saw unfit to be in Gryffindor?

Ginny buried her face in her hands. She wanted to cry but refrained. She didn't want her brothers thinking she was a little baby.

She was going to be fine. She would. She just had to think on it.

Thinking on that, Ginny pulled her caldron over and began pulling out her Lockhart books. After a few volumes her hand touched a small black book.

Confused, Ginny removed it from the caldron and stared at it. She hadn't bought this. Where had it come from? Her fingers opened the cover and turned several pages. It was completely blank.

Frowning, Ginny deduced that it must be a diary. Well, she could certainly use a place to put her thoughts. She sat aside, grabbed her quill and wrote; _Thoughts from Ginny Weasley._

She was about to write more when suddenly the ink vanished. A squeak of shock escaped her, and she stared at the pages. After a second, the ink reappeared, but arranged into different words -

_Hello Ginny._

**Time Skip**

Harry walked into King's Cross station, Dobby's warning still ringing in his ears. "_The Heir is coming to Hogwarts." _No matter how many times he considered that enigmatic statement, he didn't come any closer to guessing what it might mean.

The Heir could be one of the first year students coming to the school, but that wasn't a small number, and Harry had no idea what he would be looking for.

He stood at the entrance to the station, alone with his thoughts, Maria's cage balanced precariously on the top of his trolley. People looked oddly at him as they passed by but didn't say anything. _It would have been nice_, he thought ruefully,_ if Dobby had given me some indication of what _kind_ of danger to expect when he got there. Now I'm walking in blind._

"-a flying car! Really Arthur!"

Harry gave an 'oof!' of surprise when someone walked into him from behind. The redheads – the Weasley Family, he realized – continued past them, caught up in whatever they were discussing. He turned around to see a small redhead mumbling apologies as she collected her books. That was the girl who'd shown him the entrance to 9 3/4 last year; Ginny.

"Hello." Harry said. Ginny paused in her corralling and looked up. Her eyes widened when she saw him and she jumped to her feet, forgetting about her other books.

"Oh! Harry! Harry Potter. H-Hello. I-I'm s-sorry, I was just thinking and, and well I wasn't really paying attention to where I was walking." She said, blushing so fiercely her face was the same colour as her hair.

"No worries," Harry shrugged, and dropped to his knees to collect the other fallen books. He stood up again and handed them to the girl, who would probably pass out if her face got any redder. "This is your first year, right?"

"Y-Yes." Ginny accepted the books from Harry and clutched them against her chest. "V-Very nervous, Fred and George and Percy have been talking about Hogwarts for years now, and now I'm finally going. My whole family's been in Gryffindor, like you – but, I'm worried I won't be." She blurted this all out on a single sentence, and then looked embarrassed. "A-and you didn't need to know that, I'm sorry-"

Harry rolled his eyes and smirked. So he had a fangirl. Oh, the many ways he could take advantage of that. If what Pierce had told him about the time he had one, it was like having a worshipper who'd do anything for you.

That thought was enough to put him in a good mood. Maybe this year wouldn't be so bad after all.

"Eh, don't worry about it. We're all a little talkative in our first year in."

Ginny blushed again and looked around. "Mum? Dad?" The crowd around them had changed. Evidently, they'd been left behind.

"They seem to have left without us," Harry said mildly, grabbing his trolley again. "No matter. Let's find the platform – the train leaves soon."

Ginny looked extra nervous now that her family had accidentally walked off without her. Harry took it on himself to lead her through the crowd of muggles towards the archway to the Platform.

When they reached the platform, however, it became evident that something was wrong. Astoria was standing in front of it, kicking the wall, oblivious to the attention and stares she was drawing to herself. "Damn it!"

"Astoria." Harry said, walking up behind her, Ginny trailing behind. "Astoria, calm down. People are taking notice."

Astoria spun around, her blonde hair whipping behind her, green eyes filled with anger. "Harry! Thank Merlin someone's here – something's wrong." She said, "And if I ever get to Hogwarts I'll personally strangle the one responsible."

Harry raised a hand defensively. "Hey, take it easy. What's the matter?"

"Take it easy-?" Astoria's eyes widened. "Harry, something's sealed the gate to the platform! Daphne got in just fine, but when I tried to follow her-" She slapped her hand against the wall, which held steady as though it were an ordinary wall. "See? !"

Harry's eyes widened. That was bad. The train was going to leave any minute.

"What the hell?" He walked up to the wall and tapped it himself. It didn't budge. "Has this ever happened before?"

"If it has, no one's ever mentioned it." Astoria fumed. "Or how to get to Hogwarts when someone's locking you out of the platform!"

"Someone?" Harry repeated. "Who would freeze the platform?"

"NO idea." Astoria said through gritted teeth, "but if this is supposed to be a prank, I'm not finding it very funny."

They both turned their attention to the clock.

"Oh no..." Ginny whispered. "My parents must have already gone through, they've left me behind! What do I do?"

Astoria blinked and looked at Ginny, noticing her for the first time. "Oh. Hello, who are you?"

"This is Ginny Weasley." Harry responded for her. Ginny brightened when he said her full name. _This one is easy, all right. _"Her parents got away from us when we bumped into each other."

Astoria nodded. "Astoria Greengrass." She said.

"...Hello," Ginny said timidly.

"I don't suppose you know any other ways to Hogwarts?" Astoria asked as though not expecting an answer. Sure enough, Ginny shook her head. "Damn it all." She crossed her arms. "What are we going to do then? We can't just stand here!"

Harry thought about it, and suddenly remembered something Molly Weasley had said. "Ginny?"

"Yes?"

"Your mother said something about a car." He recalled. "Is it a normal car?"

"Oh no," Ginny shook her head. "My dad – he's fascinated with muggle stuff, and one thing he did this summer was restore one and give it the capability to fly. He's really proud of it."

Astoria's eyes lit up. "We do have a way to Hogwarts! That's wonderful. But -" She glanced at Harry. "Can you drive?"

Harry smirked. "Yeah."

"W-Wait!" Ginny protested. "My mum – mum will be really mad if I take it! I could get in a lot of trouble – mum could send me a _Howler_."

"Blame us." Harry responded. "Tell her we talked you into it. Believe me, it works. Don't you want to go to school? Besides, I think this qualifies as special circumstances." He waved a hand at the sealed gateway. "This is our only chance. Or we could all be stuck going to St. Brutus for the year."

"St. Brutus?" Astoria looked blankly at Harry.

"It's a school for 'incurably criminal children'. My uncle likes to threaten to send me there instead of Hogwarts whenever I annoy him even slightly." Harry said.

"B-But." Ginny shook her head wildly. "Harry, if we get caught the consequences can be very serious! The Ministry might get involved!"

"Then we won't get caught." Harry turned around fully to face Ginny, a false pleading look in his expressive green eyes. He gave her a smile he usually reserved for the staff of Winners whenever he shoplifted there. "Please, Ginny. You're our only hope."

That did it. Ginny lead them back into the parking lot towards a blue car. It was an older model then the one Carrie used, and thus had simpler to drive. Ginny importantly tapped it with her wand, and the three of them piled their trunks in the back, Maria and Hedwig being placed with Astoria in the back seat. Ginny sat up front with Harry, pointing at various parts of the car explaining what they did.

"That's the invisibility button," She said, tapping the silver button with her finger. "makes the car vanish. But-"

"-not here," Harry agreed, finishing her sentence for her. "Too many muggles. Let's find a garage." Astoria hung over the back of Ginny's chair as Harry put the car in gear and drove it off. They ducked into a back alley and Harry swung it into the driveway, being careful not to turn the steering wheel too hard.

Harry pushed the silver button, and the car shimmered. A muggle walked right past it, giving no indication he saw it. Harry felt himself smirking again.

"Wicked."

He put the car in gear and had it fly into the sky. The buildings seemed to shrink as the car coasted over them. "Now all we have to worry about it the aeroplanes." Harry said. Ginny let out a squeaking noise and stared out her window. Astoria was doing the same, gaping down at the world below. This was the first time either of them had seen Britain from the sky, Harry mused.

"Look at that!" Astoria said, amazed. "Is that _all _muggle London?"

"What can I say?" Harry shrugged. "There is a lot of us."

"There's the express!" Ginny cried. She pointed downward. Sure enough, there was the Hogwarts Express, streaking across the countryside like a scarlet snake.

"We'll check every thirty minutes, to make sure we haven't lost it." Harry said, before pulling them back above cloud cover and flooring the accelerator.

The car sped on above the clouds, like wandering into a dream. The sun blazed down from an endless sea of bright blue, the clouds making all kinds of shapes beneath them. Ginny stopped her worrying about getting caught to stare out of her window. Astoria had dropped her unhappy mood ages ago and would enthusiastically point at various things whenever they dropped below clouds to keep an eye on the train.

"This is amazing," Astoria said. "Do all muggles have one of these?"

"More often then not." Harry said. "Although most of them can't fly." He added as an afterthought. "We have aeroplanes for that."

The drive itself continued for several hours, and was in fact quite pleasant. There was a stack of sweets in the glove compartment, and Harry was free to discuss muggle life with the two girls. Ginny, now feeling giddy over her first major break of the rules, had inherited her father's interest in muggles. That coupled with her _obvious _crush on him had her hanging on his every word. It was both cute and extremely amusing. Astoria, having never met a muggle in her life, listened curiously, her arms resting on the back of his chair, interrupting only to ask questions. The thought that he had managed to pull off a more dramatic entrance to school then Fred and George Weasley also put a smug grin on Harry's face.

Several hours later, Hogwarts finally came into view. Astoria was feeding Maria and Hedwig when the car started to descend. "Where are we going to park it?" Ginny asked nervously. Now that they were here, the excitement of having pulled off the theft had once again given way to anxiety. It reminded Harry of the first time he'd shoplifted.

"Out back." Harry responded easily. "Right behind where they keep the express. The train'll be along in a few minutes, and we'll just join the crowd. Easy, and no one will have to know."

The tires touched the ground as Harry followed the last bit of train track to the garage where the train was kept. Turning the steering wheel to the right he swung the car around back. "Last stop, everyone out!" He said cheerfully.

Ginny sprang out of the car, squeaking as her cramped muscles strained in protest. Astoria got out more carefully, holding Hedwig's cage. "Well, that was interesting," She said.

Harry got out of the car, turning it off the same way Ginny had activated it, before getting Maria out. She didn't seem to like flying very much, because she was giving him an evil eye.

"Grab your trunks," He said. "The train will be here very soon."

%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&

Slipping into the crowd, Harry felt a twinge in his stomach. Shouldn't he feel bad about using Ginny that way? A crush was so easy to manipulate...but had she deserved to be put in that position? After all, if they had been found out they could have faced expulsion from Hogwarts, and she hadn't been wild about doing that until he'd given her the Look.

But when no one looked sideways at them as they entered the school, he decided that it didn't matter – no harm had come from it, and they had gotten to school on time to boot! Astoria looked like she enjoyed the trip a lot, and was currently walking up the hall to be Sorted.

She grinned at Harry as she walked past. Ginny offered him a tentative smile, before turning her eyes to the floor looking guilty as sin.

Again, Harry felt a twinge, but dismissed it quickly. It would stop bothering her after a little.

Daphne looked a little suspicious when Astoria had reunited with her on the platform, clearly not entirely buying the story of being in a different compartment. Now she was smiling as Astoria went to get Sorted; with any luck she wouldn't think too hard on it.

"Greengrass, Astoria!"

Harry watched as Astoria scampered up to the hat and sat on the chair. After a second, the hat shouted, "SLYTHERIN!"

Astoria put her hat down and darted over to where her sister was sitting, the table clapping and cheering.

"Lovegood, Luna!"

A dreamy-looking blonde girl walked up to the chair. Harry watched curiously as the hat shouted "RAVENCLAW!", and the strange girl walked – no, wandered – down to the Ravenclaw table and sat down. That was a strangeness he had come to associate with Carol – maybe they knew each other?

"Weasley, Ginny!"

Ginny walked up to the hat. It sat on her head and waited. And waited. The hall grew quiet, and suddenly the hat yelled - "SLYTHERIN!"

%&%&%&%&%&%&%&&%%&

Ginny sat frozen on the chair, unable to comprehend what had just happened, though the word was ringing in her ears. Slytherin? Her?

McGonagall gently pushed her in the direction of her new house. There was a scattering of polite applause, but she could feel several of the house members glaring at her. She swallowed. Then – then Astoria stood up and waved her over. "Over here, Ginny." She said.

A boy nearby – Malfoy, Ginny realized, she remembered him from Diagon Alley – glared at her, but she seemed not to notice. Nervously, Ginny walked over to her and sat down at the offered seat.

"That was unexpected." Astoria remarked, "We were expecting you to be Sorted with the rest of your family. Well – welcome to Slytherin! This is my sister, Daphne."

The older blonde on Astoria's other side nodded and smiled. "Hello Ginny." She said quietly. She glanced at her younger sister. "You've met?"

"On the train," Astoria lied immediately. "We happened to run into each other while looking for a compartment to sit in. We talked a lot."

Ginny nodded, praying her guilt didn't show in her face. Her father was going to be so worried...she'd have to make sure it 'reappeared' when she came back for the summer...oh dear...they'd be so angry with her...they were already going to go spare, she'd been sorted into Slytherin...

Her hand went into her bag and she felt Tom's diary. She relaxed a bit; Tom had been a Slytherin. He'd be able to calm her down. She knew Astoria, too, and Harry Potter had made sure she got to school.

That couldn't be too bad, right?

**End Chapter**

**All right, the reason I had Harry manipulate Ginny like that was I felt that I wasn't having him do enough questionable things. If that unsettled you, good - it was meant to. Harry doesn't really meant to put her in trouble, but he's so used to not caring about the consequences of his behavior that the seriousness of getting her involved isn't occurring to him. Also, if you think the car thing was dealt with too easily, trust me, it's going to come back - and Ginny is going to suffer for it.**

**Review please!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Trouble**

**Moon: Hello, I'm back! Again, thank you all for all your lovely reviews and encouragement - you're all so kind. Now, this chapter kicks of both the start of Slytherin Ginny and Harry's dark reputation (hence the chapter title!) I do not own Harry Potter...enjoy!**

**Chapter 10: Bad Reputation**

Harry immediately sat down on his bed, for once not protesting when Maria hopped up on his stomach. The other boys were talking to Ron, who had been beside himself over the fact that his little sister had been sorted into Slytherin. Harry really didn't see what the problem was, but the way Ron was going on about it made it seem like the Hat's decision was some sort of personal betrayal. Dean and Seamus were trying to get him to see reason, but they didn't seem to be having much luck. Neville was hanging back, too nervous to comment on anything, as usual. That was a frustrating note about the shy boy; if you were too afraid to take risks how did he expect to do anything in life?

Ron's yelling was making it hard for him to sleep, and after the pulse-pounding expedition with the 'borrowed' car Harry could really use some. He kept wondering why the gateway to the platform had been sealed – or who could have done it.

Blaise might have a few suggestions, he mused.

He was just glad Granger hadn't seen him come in on the car. Lord knows how she would have reacted; it probably would have involved a big speech about how it was the Wrongest thing he could possibly do. You'd think he'd have committed murder or something, the way she acted when he broke a rule. It wasn't as though anything bad had happened.

He realized he didn't have much knowledge about the other two houses, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. It would be good to keep an eye on the two houses, perhaps make an acquaintance or two inside them. After all, the more you know, the better prepared you are when something goes wrong. Which things often seemed to around Harry.

He fell asleep with Dobby's warnings in his ear. The sealed door was just the start, wasn't it?

%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&

Ginny numbly followed the other Slytherins down the halls into the dungeons, feeling very much like someone had dumped her into a tank full of hungry sharks. The Hat had insisted something about 'her brilliant mind' before sorting her here, no amount of begging had made it change its mind.

"Can you remember the last time a blood traitor was sorted into Slytherin?" Draco said in a voice that was meant to be a whisper, but pitched to carry in a way that couldn't have been anything less than intentional. "That was decades ago. Usually, when one of those – or Merlin forbid, a _mudblood_ – was sorted into our house, they didn't last a month."

"The last recorded Honour Killing was a hundred years ago, Draco." Blaise said, his tone hard. "We've given up on that bloodthirsty tradition."

Draco seemed not to notice. "The last _recorded _honour killing..." he muttered, casting a glare at Ginny. "It's a pity, really...Hogwarts could use a little cleanup..."

Ginny shivered and started walking faster in an attempt to put some distance between herself and Draco. His two cronies and a few girls snickered; her distress must be obvious to them. Her father had talked about how barbaric the honour killings had been. Oh lord, what if she was targeted? She didn't want to die!

"Ignore him," Another girl who'd followed Astoria and Daphne down the halls, Tracy Davis if Ginny was remembering her name right. "The Malfoy's have very strong views on blood purity; he's just trying to frighten you. Don't let him know it, walk with your back up straight and your eyes indifferent. Sharks won't come after you if they can't smell your blood."

Astoria nodded in agreement of this. Ginny swallowed and straightened her back like she was told, forcing back tears that wanted desperately to come. It felt forced and awkward at first, but she saw what they were getting at, and held herself this way all the way to the common room.

The common room was coldly pretty, with green and silver everywhere. There were armchairs around the fireplace, a circle in the corner for duelling, and there was a skull on the mantle. Ginny tried not to look at it.

They were immediately menaced by their Head of House, Severus Snape, who launched into a monologue about honour, cleverness and tenacity that Ginny desperately hung onto, trying to absorb how she would be expected to behave.

An ideal Slytherin girl should be, according to the speech, cool and reserved, careful and clever, put thought before action, pragmatism before emotion, act instead of react, and weigh all the possible outcomes to a situation. She would never start a battle that she could not win. She would lie her way into the enemy's good graces to lower their guard, and then she would strike. She would never dishonour her allies.

Ginny fought back a shiver. It sounded so opportunistic and uncaring. She'd always been emotional and outspoken. How would she meet these expectations? The stress of her situation was high and mounting every minute.

After this speech, Severus Snape dismissed them with a twirl of his cape and told them to prepare for their lessons tomorrow. She was scared of him; she had heard all kinds of horror stories about Snape from her brothers. How would he treat her?

Ginny followed Astoria, Daphne and Tracy into the girl's dormitory. The first year girls took a different section from the others; Daphne and Tracy said something to Astoria before going in the other direction.

Some of the older girls who were already there gave a moment to stare at Ginny as she walked past them, some of them with coldness in their eyes, others with confusion, and still others with simple curiosity mingled with a challenge.

Pansy Parkinson stopped her, Astoria and her two other dorm mates Megan Rushman and Selena Pritchard on their way to their room. Her eyes were so dark they were almost black, and they were like chips of ice will of scorn and hate.

"What's the blood traitor doing here?" She demanded, not even looking at Ginny. "Her whole rotten, muggle-loving family's always been in Gryffindor. They should keep their disgrace away from this noble house."

"She's been sorted here, Parkinson." Astoria responded stiffly. "That makes her one of us."

Pansy tossed her hair and glared at Ginny in a way that made the redhead want to melt into the floor and disappear. "One of us? A base-born brat born of a muggle-lover who raises his children like animals?" She scoffed. "Not likely! Send her off somewhere; I don't want to share my dorm with the likes of her." Several other pureblood girls made noises of agreement.

Ginny swallowed hard, she would not cry in front of this girl; it would only egg her on. Astoria merely glared back at Pansy and said, "Parkinson, she won't be in your dorm, she'll be in mine. It's the hat's decision to put her here; therefore it falls on us to help her become a snake. She's still a pureblood, you know, and therefore you _should _show her a little respect."

"Respect?" Pansy growled. "Her father is so obsessed with muggles he's hardly better than one. None of them have any respect for ancient traditions or their bloodlines. They're no better than those mudbloods. I won't have her tarnishing our house honour with her presence."

"Move, Parkinson," Astoria said, her temper visible in her words. "If you have nothing constructive to say, say nothing, remember?"

Pansy gave Astoria a dirty look. "You better watch it, Greengrass. I'm not going to kowtow to you just because your Malfoy's betrothed." She spat the last words out as though they were poison to her. "You can go and host a filthy blood traitor if you'd like, but _I _have social standards. And I'll be keeping them."

She walked past the group, smashing Ginny with her shoulder as she went past. "You better watch your back, blood traitor." She finished scathingly. "If I catch you doing anything untoward, you're dead." The girls who'd been standing with her all shot Ginny venom-filled glares and followed Pansy to her dorm.

Ginny stumbled a bit, nearly falling over backwards over her trunk, but Megan caught her arm. "Quite the conversationalist, isn't she?" The black-haired girl asked sarcastically.

Astoria shook her head. "Girls, not here – come on, we better get to our dorm." She nodded in the direction of her dorm, and lead the other girls into the corner where the four beds were. The other Slytherin girls watched them leave.

There was a long, painful pause before Megan walked over to the far end bed and dropped her trunk in front of it. "Nice welcome. They sure know how to treat new students." If her sarcasm had a physical form, it would have been heavier than an elephant. Her blue eyes were alive with scorn.

Selena, a silver-haired girl with storm-grey eyes was still gawking back in the direction the confrontation had taken place. "Do they all talk like that?" She asked uneasily.

"A lot do. But it's hardly just them. There are bigots scattered throughout all four houses. Some are more vocal than others." Astoria said, putting her trunk on her bed. "I'm sorry Ginny, but I'm afraid there's going to be more of that in the first year."

Ginny stared at her trunk, still refusing to let herself cry. Her day had been horrid enough already without breaking down in front of a group of strangers. "About what Malfoy said...have there been any honour killings recently?" She asked, hoping that she sounded casual, and that the answer was no.

Astoria looked grimly at her. "A muggleborn disappeared during Daphne's first year. They never found him, and I have a sneaking suspicion why, especially since Drake Lehane looked so please with himself...but mostly muggleborns are just bullied so fiercely their parents pull them out."

"_That's_ comforting," Megan muttered. "So they won't _kill _you, they're just make you life utterly miserable. That's _so_ much better."

Ginny squeezed her hands around the handle of her trunk. Her parents couldn't afford to move her to a different school; the tuition would be too much for their already shaky finances.

"What do you guys think?" She whispered. "Me being a blood traitor? Should I be thrown out? Am I a disgrace of a witch?"

"No." Astoria said flatly. "We can't help who our family is. And I don't think blood is an appropriate measure of magical ability – after all, wasn't it Harry Potter, half-blood, who defeated He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named? Besides, regardless of blood, I'm not treating another girl my age that way."

"I don't hold that against you," Megan said. "My eldest brother eloped with a muggle lady not too long ago; he escaped to Australia, of all places. You should have seen my parents – believe me, that's not a scene you want to step into. But I still love him, and I don't think he would have chosen her if it was wrong, somehow."

Selena shifted. "I...I don't really have an opinion," she whispered. "But you don't seem..._wrong_, Ginny."

Ginny listened to this, burying herself in those words and trying to put out Pansy's vicious statements about her being dirty and worthless out of her mind. Her shoulder was aching and probably bruised. "What's her family like?" She asked quietly.

"Oh, Pansy gets all her unpleasantness from her father, Evan Parkinson." Astoria said darkly. "He works alongside Lucius in the Ministry, trying to pass laws that would put further restrictions on what muggleborns can and cannot do...he also claimed imperious after the first war with You-Know-Who... they're like minds, Malfoy and Parkinson. Everyone was expecting them to form an official alliance via marriage contract, but for some reason Malfoy came to _my _father instead."

Megan nodded. "I heard about your betrothal. My father was surprised by it, too. I think he meant to offer my brother Hadrian as a husband for you, but Malfoy got there first. I think he might have his eye on your older sister, though."

Astoria shook her head. "I think my dad's aiming to have Potter for Daphne's husband." She said. "Especially after the way he talked to him when he first met him at the robe store."

"I can see why," Selena said quietly. "The Potters are one of the oldest families still alive, and have relatively healthy blood. My mother is certainly willing to overlook the fact he's half-blood if it means marrying me to him." She sighed. "I'm a little worried about that. If he turns me down my other choices seem to be Marcus Flint or Drake Lehane, and they're awful brutes, both of them."

Astoria nodded. "You have my sympathy if you get stuck with one of them, Pritchard." She said. "What about you, Rushman? How's your future looking?"

Megan managed a sarcastic smile. "At least one of my choices looks like a half-decent fellow, at least. Lucky for me," she muttered. "It's Nathan Clearwater. He's a Ravenclaw. Frankly, I'd rather him – or death – over my other option."

"Who's that?" Ginny asked, her mind spinning with this talk of marriage contracts and old families between the other girls. Her mum and dad had tried to distance themselves from pureblood tradition and history and hadn't told her about these things, so she was feeling hopelessly confused. The girls referred to themselves by their last names instead of their first – was that a sign of respect? Or wariness? Should she use their last names too?

"Theodore Nott." Megan replied with a grimace. "If there's a more unpleasant bigot, I'm yet to meet him. How about you, Weasley?" She turned her attention to Ginny. "Considering your...status, let's call it, I'm not sure if your parents are looking at marriage contracts, but are they thinking about it?"

"I..." Ginny took a breath to steady her voice, and did her best to match Megan's cool, indifferent tone. "Not as of yet, no. My father doesn't think some of the old traditions have my best interests in mind."

Astoria looked seriously at Ginny. "Are you familiar with any pureblood customs?"

"...No."

The blonde girl let out her breath. "Okay. You going to want to get up to speed on those for your duration in the Slytherin house. I'm not asking you to change what you believe, but it will be much easier for you if you outwardly meet the model the other Slytherins are expecting."

"We'll help you." Selena offered.

Ginny looked hopefully at her dorm mates. She already had a target painted on her, but with some help maybe she'd be able to make it through her school year. "Thank you! That means a lot to me."

"You might want to leave it mostly to us, Greengrass," Megan warned Astoria. "I don't need to talk to Malfoy to know he's angry enough about you chatting with Potter without you publicly lending a hand to a known blood traitor."

Astoria's eyes narrowed angrily, and she exhaled through her teeth. "You have a point. Right. Ugh, damn him. Sorry Ginny, but I won't be of much help to you in class. Only when we're here." She gestured to the dorm. "We might as well start now."

%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&

_Tom, I've been sorted into Slytherin._

_**You have? I told you before, that's my old House. You must be pleased to have been placed in the most noble of Hogwart's houses.**_

_I was a little scared actually; remember I said my whole family was in Gryffindor? What if they're angry? What if they don't like me?_

_**There's no reason they should be! They should be proud of a Slytherin daughter. There's so much you can do, and what you can become...none of the other houses can – or are willing to – offer you what Slytherin can and will.**_

_That's nice to know. Some of the other girls don't seem to like me very much, and my dorm mates are going to have to catch me up on pureblood tradition and how Slytherin girls behave. I don't know anything about it and some of the girls are already being awful to me. Malfoy was whispering about honour killings just as we were coming in, I'm sure he meant for me to hear._

_**I see. I've heard about a number of honour killings in my time. But you aren't a muggleborn.**_

_No. This girl Pansy Parkinson called me a blood traitor, though, because my parents didn't raise me or any of my siblings by the traditions. _

_**You'll have to prove to her that you can carry yourself like an honourable pureblood. She will repeal her words if you prove her wrong. **_

_Thanks. Malfoy also doesn't want my friend Astoria openly associating with me because I'm a blood traitor. They're betrothed, she said. How is that fair? _

_**It is most likely he's merely going overboard protecting his intended. Once you establish yourself there shouldn't be any problems. Of course, you'll have to do a lot to prove your family still has honour. **_

_My parents are honourable! They just think differently from the others!_

_**Of course. I'm simply stating that their different though process will not do you many favours among your peers. **_

_I noticed; it isn't just Parkinson who's giving me nasty looks. _

_The gateway to school was sealed today. Harry Potter convinced me to fly my dad's car to Hogwarts. Was that wrong of me? Will my dad hate me? _

_**Someone sealed the gate? Dreadful, trying to keep students from reaching school. No, you were absolutely within your right to get to school any way you could. Your father may be angry for a little, but news that your in Slytherin should change his tune. **_

_Will he think Harry is a bad influence? I mean, he did talk me into breaking an important rule, and if we had been spotted we could have been expelled. Will he make me stop seeing Harry if I tell him?_

_**It shouldn't matter to him; the Potters are an ancient family. Closeness to him could potentially erase your poverty forever and establish your family as a kingpin among British civilization. He'd be a fool to throw that away over a single violation; after all, you weren't caught. **_

_I've been told his family is really old before. My friend Selene Pritchard said that her mother was considering offering Harry a marriage contract for having Selene as a bride. And Astoria's betrothed to Malfoy. Isn't that strange? I mean, we're all eleven – well, Harry is twelve, but that's still really young to get married!_

_**It wasn't that strange when I was in school. Girls often married young, especially in times when there was danger on the horizon. **_

_Do you think Parkinson will try to make me a victim of an honour killing, if she thought she could get away with it? _

_**Hmm...the Parkinsons have considerable political clout, you may want to keep an eye on her. It would be...brazen...of her, considering that Headmaster Dumbledore seems to have a soft spot for families such as yours, but she may attempt it.**_

_Thank you, Tom. You always have such helpful advice. It's so nice to have a friend in my pocket in such a scary position. I have to sleep now, though. Goodnight._

_**Good night, Ginny.**_

Inside the confines of the diary, Tom Riddle boded his time. Listening to this blood traitor's worried prattling, and pretending to be sympathetic was exceptionally irritating. Of all the people who could have picked up his diary, why did it have to be a preteen girl? If he had hair, he'd be ripping at it.

However, her being sorted into Slytherin would have her writing in his diary more than she usually did, which was all the better for him. He was gaining more power steadily the more she poured her fears and hopes into him.

She was putting so much of herself into him, he would be able to unlock the Chamber sooner than he had expected! This was more than he had initially hoped for. If she kept up like this, he'd be releasing the Basilisk within the week. Then all would come to fear Slytherin's heir, and he could begin what he had meant to do years before – purge the world of those unworthy of studying magic, until only the pure remained. And he'd start with his former home, Hogwarts, which had undoubtedly been sullied even further since that doddering old fool Dumbledore had become Headmaster.

And the stupid brat was already offering him potential targets, without even realizing it. Perhaps he should have it attack the Parkinson girl; her father had renounced his service to him and lived on his gold like a coward, after all. She mentioned this Granger mudblood, her bizarre and half-blood friend Lovegood, her blood traitor siblings, and of course Potter himself.

Speaking of whom. It seemed that the boy was more of a risk-taker and a rulebreaker than he would have expected of Dumbledore's Golden Boy; it may require a different approach for when he went after the boy again. But with that in mind, it would be easier to drive a wedge in between him and that meddling old coot if that was his normal behaviour.

The boy seemed to be ready to break rules to look out for himself...and the coot was of the mindset that anything can be sacrificed for the Greater Good. Oh yes, it should be easy to push the two apart. Divide and conquer had always been his preferred methods.

For years he had been trapped within this diary. But it wouldn't go on much longer. No, soon Tom Riddle would be released, and he would reign over all.

%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&

Harry woke the next morning with a headache he couldn't explain. _Must be left over from the altitude yesterday, _he reasoned, swinging his legs off the bed and getting dressed. He grabbed his books and his timetable and headed downstairs.

And of course, Defence Against the Dark Arts was every bit the joke it was last year, with Professor Lockhart still in the position. He hadn't stopped his self-interested boasting since last year; in fact Harry was getting the impression that he was _more _arrogant and overblown than the last time he had seen him. At the beginning of the lesson, he let loose a cage full of pixies into the classroom and then couldn't contain them; Hermione Granger of all people had had to freeze them and put them away.

At this point Harry would rather be taught Defence by a werewolf and cut class right after this, halfway through the man's rambled explanation. _If he flashes those teeth at me one more time, _Harry thought, _I'll probably go blind. Whoever hired this guy should be fired from breathing. _

He ended up catching up with the Weasley Twins, who had the sense to leave long before he had. This, of course, got him on the wrong end of a Canary Cream, so he walked into his next class – Herbology – plotting revenge. He would rather die than admit that, yeah, it had been kind of funny.

In Herbology, they were repotting Mandrakes. The little creature's cries gave him a splitting headache, and he nearly passed out since everyone had pulled their Mandrake up at the same time, but he pulled through nonetheless.

On his way to his next class, he walked into a smaller kid. The kid had mousy hair and reminded Harry of Ginny for some reason, in size and in expression. He scrambled to pick up his camera and looked up at Harry, eyes wide.

"Harry! Harry. All right? I'm sorry. I – I'm Colin Creevy," He said excitedly. "I'm in Gryffindor, too. Do you mind – would it be alright if I took you picture?"

"Oh-uh-all right." Harry said, trying to keep the smile of his face. Another fan? Wow. Colin wasn't a girl, but it was still a nice feeling to see someone in such awe of you.

"Taking photographs now, Potter? What do you do with your spare time?"

Harry rolled his eyes and turned in the direction of the ever-present Draco Malfoy and his cronies. He'd walked across the Courtyard at some point and said it loudly enough to catch some of the surrounding student's attention. More fool him.

"I was going to ask you the same thing, Draco," He said in a bored tone. "Don't you ever get tired of following me around? I swear, it's like I have a stalker. Man – if we were a little older, and in a muggle school, you'd be expected to declare your intentions." When he said this last sentence, he raised his eyebrows in a way that his meaning couldn't be mistaken.

Draco turned several interesting colours and it was all Harry could take not to burst out laughing. "You – you – Potter – what kind of – how dare -"

"It's funny seeing you at loss for words, Malfoy," Harry said with a smirk. "Maybe you should freeze your face like that."

Colin started giggling, a motion that was followed by the other students. Draco's mouth opened and closed and repeated this several times. Harry returned his attention to Colin. "Sure Colin, but maybe later, I don't like the backdrop." He gestured to the wall and then walked off, leaving a hyperactive Colin and a gaping Malfoy, who was still hadn't quite processed his response.

%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&

Harry stepped back into the hallways of the school and then stopped. An uneasy feeling had washed over him, and he had a feeling that he wasn't alone.

"_let me rip let me tear let me kill-" _

The voice hissed from the walls, making him spin around. But he was alone, there was no one who could have said it. It was resonating within his head. It was old, and angry.

Harry started walking down the hall. Magic or no, hearing voices inside your head was never a good sign. The voice was heavy with malevolence; he picked up the pace, trying to find out where it was coming from -

"_letmekill!"_

He rounded the corner and stopped. The voice had retreated, but there was something on the floor that wasn't the leaking water.

A Ravenclaw was lying still on the floor. Justin, if Harry was remembering his name right. Ginny was kneeling next to him, putting a hand on his and then pulling it back, fear in her eyes.

"What happened?" Harry asked, running up to the unmoving body.

Ginny's head shot up. "Harry! I don't know. I was just wandering in the halls and I found him like this! But I don't know what's wrong, he's so cold, is he dead?"

Harry looked down at Justin and put two fingers on his neck. His skin was cold, but there was a stiffness and a hardness to it that a dead person didn't. "I don't know," he told her, he knew that didn't sound very comforting, but he couldn't tell her what he didn't know.

He caught sight of her left arm. Although it was mostly obscured by her sleeve, there was a nasty-looking scar that started at her wrist and went up. "Hey, what happened-?"

"Bulstrode's work," Ginny muttered, pulling her sleeve down further. "Do you think we can pick him up-"

"Hah!"

Harry and Ginny looked up to see Filch, the caretaker, standing over them, his face twisted into a horrible grimace. "Caught in act!" He shouted.

"What?" Ginny said in a small voice.

"I knew you were trouble from the first minute you stepped into this castle, Potter," Filch went on, "And here's the end proof – you've attacked another student?"

"I didn't!" Harry said hotly, "I found him like this, Ginny called me over-"

"So you have an accomplice!" Filch said, "That changes nothing. Headmaster!"

%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&

Harry and Ginny were hauled through the school and up into the Headmaster's office. This in and of itself wouldn't have bothered Harry, who was familiar with such offices, if it hadn't been because a boy had been turned to stone. Both their Heads of house, McGonagall and Snape, came in along with them when they heard Filch's shouting.

Ginny was shaking and looking positively terrified. This was truly the cap-off of a terrible week – being suspected of causing students harm. She clutched her arm, where the curse was still stinging her. No, she'd been on the _receiving _end of student harm, not the perpetrator.

Her fingers locked around Tom's diary, seeking comfort as Headmaster Dumbledore appeared from his study. Her mother talked about Dumbledore all the time and called him the 'greatest, most fair person you'd ever meet'. She desperately hoped that it was all true.

Harry, on the other hand, was feeling distinctively uncomfortable with the way Dumbledore's twinkling eyes seemed to bore into him and refused to meet them directly, instead settling for staring over his shoulder at the brilliant red phoenix on the perch in the far corner. No matter how many people sang Dumbledore's praises, something about him just felt off, and he was going to stay on his toes around the man.

"I've heard about what happened to poor Justin," He began in a grandfatherly voice, but perhaps the two of you could tell me what happened?"

Ginny immediately started, "I was just walking down the hallways, you know to get to my next class – I turned the corner, and I saw Justin on the floor! I went over to him, but he didn't answer me and his skin was so cold. A minute later Harry found me, and we were about to find a teacher when Filch came over." She subsided, her brown eyes wide and beseeching.

"A likely story!" Filch exclaimed. "He's using you as a cover-up...Potter, nothing but trouble ever since he got here, has no respect for anything, he's probably trying to see what he can get away with."

Harry bit down on an exceptionally foul-worded retort. It wouldn't do him any favours when he was trying to prove his innocence.

"No second year could have done this," Dumbledore said firmly. "But that means that someone else has. Did either of you, per chance, see anything suspicious in the halls before you came upon Justin?"

Harry shook his head no and looked at Ginny. She blinked once, twice, and seemed to be looking at something that wasn't there. "No sir," She whispered.

Something was wrong. Maybe it was her arm that was bothering her.

Maybe.

Dumbledore shook his head. "You both may go. Severus, Minerva, please remain, there are some things we should discuss..."

Harry and Ginny left the room, Harry straining to hear whatever he could before he was shuffled out the door. "...Chamber...can't be back..."

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At dinner, Harry picked at his food, deep in thought. Something strange had happened in the halls – he had heard that voice, and then he'd found Justin. He forbore mentioning that to the teachers, because it probably would only have served to make him look worse.

If the voice and the attack were connected, why hadn't Ginny heard it? She was fairly close by when he had heard it.

What was going on?


	11. Chapter 11

**Trouble**

**Moon: And here's to double updates! I love it when I have brainwaves; this chapter came much more easily than the last one. Anyway, much drama occurs, and I'm sorry about the timeskip but I felt that I'd just be quoting text for that one and nothing interesting would be happening, so I'd just skip ahead to where things start happening. Also, this is the bit where the girls start to get more badass, and Harry starts noticing that girls are pretty. (wink)**

**I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 11: Looking for Answers**

**Time Skip – Four Months**

Harry went straight to the library.

It didn't matter that there was another two lessons before dinner, it had been two weeks after the first attack and the start of the whispers, and he needed answers.

There was definitely a connection between the voices he had heard and Justin's petrification, he was sure of it. There was also a 'Chamber', apparently. There wasn't much that made sense, but he was going to clear that up as soon as possible.

Ginny had been distraught over what happened to Justin, despite Harry pointing out it wasn't her fault. She had run off towards Astoria the minute she caught sight of the girl. The younger Greengrass had shot Harry a confused look but kept her attention on her Housemate.

Now, one thing Harry was cursing himself for doing was during the Duelling Club. Lockhart, in his infinite wisdom, had paired him up with Draco for a mock duel. Harry had knocked him over with _Expelliarmus _of all spells. Some people – definitely Daphne and Ronald – had laughed at this. Draco, insensed, and summoned a snake. It had hissed at Tracy when Harry, not knowing what came over him, ordered it to stop. Then it turned and looked at him. It_ listened _to him. It responded that it was hungry, and that it just wanted a mouthful. Harry, caught up in this scene, told it that Tracy was not dinner, and to find dinner someone else. The snake had hissed in displeasure, but obediently slithered away from Tracy, off the table and down the halls, heedless to the screaming students. Harry had then looked around to see a lot of people staring at him, some with looks of suspicion and dislike. He had been confused by this until Daphne told him that he had just spoken in Parseltongue – the language of snakes. And there was one particular person who was famous for talking to snakes – Salazar Slytherin.

Later that evening, in the most unhelpful coincidence Harry could remember, Mrs. Norris and Ron Weasley were both found petrified in the hallways. There was a message written in blood on the walls – the Chamber of Secrets has been opened, enemies of the Heir, beware.

It was clear to Harry that this was the Heir Dobby had warned him about.

Weeks went on and the attacks continued. Hermione Granger was one of the victims, as was a Ravenclaw girl named Cho Chang. Terry Boot had been hit an hour before dinner.

Frankly, Harry was surprised the school wasn't being closed down. A muggle school would have been on lockdown after the first attack, and shut down for inspection after the second.

Why Hogwarts was still open with nearly eight students having been attacked amazed him.

Naturally, everyone was running around like headless chickens trying to figure out what was going on, rather than put some actual thought into how the attacks were being carried out.

The teachers, for instance, were simply carrying on their normal duties like absolutely nothing was wrong. In fact, they clarified that students would still be expected to do their exams, even though there was a mysterious monster breathing down on their necks that had already attacked several of their fellow students. Harry had seen no extensive attempts to search for the snake.

Some of the students promptly came to the conclusion that he was an evil dark wizard who had attacked Justin, Mrs. Norris and Ron. He heard it whispered in the hallways, saw it in the looks that some people gave him, in the way that Prefects followed him from class to class. He had it shouted at him by some of Justin's classmates.

Ernie Macmilliain was of the opinion that the reason the Dark Lord had gone after Harry when he was a baby was because he didn't want any competition. Harry heard him talking about it with Hannah Abott when he had walked into the library.

"Think about it," Ernie had said. "Slytherin was a Parseltongue too...and you know what he was like. Potter must be his descendant...he'd have powers the rest of us don't. It's a family trait, Parseltongue. Where else would he have got it?"

"I don't know, Ernie," Hannah said uncertainly, "Harry isn't much of a conversationalist, but he risked his life to save Tracy when her broom broke in first year."

"Are you kidding? She's a pureblood, remember?" Ernie said. "She's one of the elite 'worthy of magic'. And you know who he was often seen hanging out with? Daphne and Astoria Greengrass, and Blaise Zabini, Slytherins and purebloods."

"He talks to Dean," Hannah pointed out. "And I saw him help Neville with a spell a week ago. You never hear _him _say words like 'mudblood', unlike Malfoy."

"Well he can't make it too obvious, can he? He needs just enough clout to stay under the Professor's radar...you know, I heard that he engages in criminal behaviour regularly at his muggle home, has been at it since he was little!"

"That's just a rumour."

"No-one knows how he survived his encounter with You-Know-Who...I mean, he was a fifteen month old baby, he should have been blasted into little pieces. But he survived, and the darkest wizard in years didn't. That must be the reason, right? Because no one knows how he did it, not even Dumbledore..."

Harry had gotten fed up at this point, and had walked into the room. It had almost been amusing to see how fast Ernie's face drained of colour until he was whiter than paper.

As much as it angered him to think about what the Hufflepuff had said, those comments had raised a few questions that had been nagging at him for some time now. How _had _he survived Voldemort's attempt on his life, when so many experienced witches and wizards hadn't? What kind of magic had occurred that fateful night to protect him, and given him the scar on his forehead?

This was yet another reason Harry was in the library. The other one was because he needed to get away from all the people staring at him.

It made his insides burn. How they could have come to that conclusion was beyond him, he didn't even know Justin, why would he attack him? More than that, how would he be capable of it in the first place, and even then why would he stick around the crime scene after he'd done it?

None of these questions seemed to matter to the Hufflepuffs, or some of the Gryffindors for that matter. They were all making a point of avoiding him, some people even ran away from him when he went to sit down for lunch. People avoided him. The only ones who approached him without blinking or acting strangely around him were the ones who had survived the Cerberus attack back in their first year. Not exactly comforting.

It stung. It really did. He was finally in a place with other people like him, and they were turning on him over mere hearsay? Did none of them believe that it was possible to be in the wrong place at the wrong time?

Harry was used to being thought of as a troublemaker. He was used to people acting like this around him. It hadn't bothered him when it was his 'family' and their snobby friends, because the hatred was mutual. But here?

He forced the unhappiness of this deep down inside him. He dropped the moderated behaviour he had been putting on for this school, for having wanted to fit in. No, he was back to his old self at this point. No more rule-obeying. He was doing things his way.

Harry went to the library intent on getting some answers for all these questions.

He walked into the library and began scanning the shelves. He went past Potions textbooks and Charms lists, Quidditch books, and other assorted things. His fingers traced the spines of the books he passed. There were many things to look at, but none that he needed...

His fingers hit _Deadliest Creatures Alive_. Harry grabbed it off the shelf and opened it. On the inside cover it said _for those who tamed these creatures, see Bloodlines and Ancient Families. _It had obviously been scribbled there by another student.

Harry obligingly closed the cover and turned his attention back to the shelves. He continued his search, collecting other books as he walked. These included _Unusual Abilities in Young Wizards, Known Family Traits, _and _Destructive Blood Feuds_. After a while, he now had a sizable book collection under his arm, but couldn't find the _Bloodlines _book. So, he put the books down on a table, got out his invisibility cloak and ducked into the Restricted Section. There, he proved to have a little more luck – He found _Bloodlines _and its sequel, _Blood Magic and Magical Connections between Family Members_. There were some other interesting books there, likely containing dark curses and other unpleasant things. Well, it was good to study the opponent, so he grabbed _Darkest of Magics _and headed back to his original stack.

Now there was the question of where to go. Harry didn't want to be interrupted. Eventually he decided on the girl's bathroom that was haunted by notoriously grumpy ghost Moaning Myrtle. She was the reason no one went in there anymore.

Putting a levitation charm he'd learned over the summer on the stack of books, Harry hurried down the hallway and towards the bathroom.

%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&

Harry sat against the wall, reading through the books. _Bloodlines _had confirmed what many people had suspected – he had Slytherin ancestry. It certainly explained his ability to speak Parseltongue.

He had looked at his family tree, which was ripped above three generations back. Harry was extremely irritated at this and didn't doubt that it was done on purpose. Now how was he going to find out about his family?

There was scant information regarding any possible ways he could have survived the Dark Lord's assault when his highly trained parents hadn't. There were some things, but it was mostly speculation.

The only thing that seemed to relate to his case was the power of 'love', which apart from making Harry feel like a male Sailor Moon was such a vague and inconsistent 'power' that Harry wasn't sure that it was a power at all.

Oh, he was under no illusions of what people in love could do, but he didn't see how it would vaporize dark lords or help people survive curses. The 'Blood Protection' wards that the Restricted book talked about would only protect him from the man who'd directly cast a curse at him, not from his followers, or from a jet turbine that he could drop on the house. And it could have dire repercussions for the ones tied to it if they broke their oaths or weren't careful.

Also, the person involved had to _love _the person they were setting up the protections for, otherwise the caster was wasting his or her time. It stated that very clearly, in large letters and red ink at the bottom of the page.

Yeah, there was no way that was how Harry had survived Voldemort's curse.

Besides, what did he know about love? His only living relatives hated him, and while he had his dear friends Carrie, Pierce and Miranda, he didn't have the kind of love for him that this book described. No, Harry was starved of any kind of familial or romantic love; under his criminal persona he was a very lonely orphan, no different from the next.

That was a dead end, but not all his questions were. He was getting a strong suspicion of what was petrifying students, although he wasn't certain yet. There were a handful of creatures that were capable of turning people to stone the way the other students were ending up, including the Cockatrice and the Basilisk. What didn't make sense, however, was how either of those creatures could get around in the school without being noticed - the Basilisk, for instance, was over sixty feet long.

"I thought we might find you in here."

Harry looked up to see Daphne and Tracy standing in front of him. Her blonde hair was hanging around her face like a curtain, but her eyes were sharp and focused on him.

He'd been reciting the speech he figured he'd have to give her ever since this mess started; he didn't like people getting hurt on his behalf. "You know, girls, it'd probably be better for you if you didn't hang out with me," Harry started, but he was cut off before he could get far.

"I couldn't give less of a damn what any of them thought," Daphne snapped, causing him to start. "You're my friend. And I stand by my friends. End of story." She glared down at him. "And no amount of arguing will make me change my mind, so don't bother."

Harry blinked a few times and, almost despite himself, smiled a bit. "Nice to know that. I have to ask – do you think I'm attacking the other kids?"

Daphne scoffed. "Hardly. Astoria and I agree on this, by the way. I know you – you're definitely a troublemaker, but you're no Dark Wizard. She would be here too, but she's in Potions now, and you know how Professor Snape can get."

"A Dark Wizard? The boy-who-lived? I wonder if any of these people ever listen to themselves talk. If they did, they should know how ridiculous they sound." Tracy agreed wholeheartedly.

Harry did smile at this. Their words created a warm feeling in his stomach, something he was unfamiliar with – affection. The thought of someone looking out for him was an unfamiliar one, and after the month he'd been having it was more than welcome.

Daphne walked across the room and sat down next to him. "Any luck?" She asked.

Harry turned his eyes back to the book he'd been reading. "I've found out more about my ability to talk to snakes – I do have Slytherin ancestry. I thought about going into Slytherin," He added, "But I didn't like the personalities in there. Barring you," He said quickly when Daphne's eyebrows rose.

The Slytherin ice princess chuckled. "Good save, Potter. Anything on what's Petrifying the students?"

"There's a few creatures that are capable of this, but I don't see how any of them could be getting around the school unnoticed." Harry said. "They're really big – there's no way you'd miss them."

Daphne frowned and looked at the page describing the Basilisk. "Well, maybe they aren't using the hallways," She responded seriously.

"Pipes?" Tracy said, shocked.

Both Harry and Daphne looked at her. "The pipes in Hogwarts are big," Tracy said nervously, her eyes shooting around the bathroom. "Maybe its be able to fit through them. But where would it come from?"

Daphne's mouth made an 'O' of understanding. "The Chamber. Remember, Tracy? All the myths say that Slytherin left a monster only he could control in the Chamber. Harry's been hearing voices – voices only he can here, late at night, usually right before there's an attack."

"Basilisk." Harry muttered. Adrenalin, fear, excitement and a host of other emotions washed over him.

"Astoria said that she heard Professor Snape talking to Professor Dumbledore." Daphne went on. "She was out in the halls last night."

Tracy gaped. "She was? But we're supposed to be on lockdown! She could have gotten hurt!"

Daphne rolled her eyes. "Like that's ever stopped her before. According to Astoria, the Chamber of Secrets has been opened before. Apparently, one of the students died while several others were petrified. It only stopped after someone was accused and expelled."

The three students stared at each other for a long minute. Then Harry dug through his stack of books and pulled out _"Hogwarts – A History.' _He turned to the end section and read aloud,

"The Chamber of Secrets, a secret base rumoured to have been built by Salazar Slytherin soon after the school was created, has long been thought a myth. However, during the time when Albus Dumbledore was Deputy Headmaster, there was a series of attacks on the school. There were several petrifications of muggleborn students until finally, a third year named Mrytle McGrew was killed in the bathroom by the monster of the Chamber. At long last, the culprit, Rubeus Hagrid, was found associating with the monstrous spider and was expelled from the school. There were no further attacks."

There was a short pause after Harry finished reading this.

Harry took a deep breath, closed the book, and then said very clearly, "That's _bullshit!_"

"Harry!"

"No, seriously! Hagrid, the heir of Slytheirn? SLYTHERIN? You've got to be kidding me! What kind of idiotic old sod could possibly come to a conclusion so asinine and full of holes? Remind me, what's Slytherin's supposed obsession that put him at odds with the other Founders? The thing that all the people who believe it preach to everyone else? Pure blood! What's the problem here? _Hagrid's a bloody half giant!_ If that's true than Slytherin would have _died_ rather than _associate _with Hagrid, much less have him for his heir! There is no way in hell he could possibly be Slytherin's heir! What kind of ridiculous thought process went into _that _trail? Do these people not bother to put any investigation or thought into any of the accusations they throw around? Do they-"

"Harry! Harry, we get it," Daphne said seriously. Harry broke off his rant and ran his fingers through his hair, a little sheepish from loosing his temper in front of her.

"Definitely, Hagrid couldn't be the one who let the monster loose. There aren't any kinds of spiders that turn people to stone." Tracy sighed. "All they would have had to do was look for bite marks and boom!, Hagrid would have been cleared."

"What kind of justice system does that?" Harry said. Then he raised a hand and said, "Wait, no, don't answer that. I've gone through the system many times and you don't want the answer to that question! Believe me."

"Well, since it's obviously not him, then who did open the Chamber?" Daphne asked, pulling the conversation back to the main problem.

"Malfoy, maybe?" Tracy suggested. "His family's been in Slytherin for years, and he's not subtle about his hatred of muggleborns and half bloods. He's been bragging about it for weeks now."

Harry rolled his eyes. "No way. If Malfoy was the heir of Slytherin, he'd have gotten himself caught now. He's _way_ too obvious. I think someone with actual Slytherin aptitudes would be much more careful then that idiot's being."

"Harry's right. It's not Malfoy." Daphne agreed.

"That doesn't leave us very much to go on," Harry sighed. "The Headmaster's obviously bloody useless, so we can't ask him anything about that time. This book doesn't names the students who were just Petrified, and even if we could track them down it's not very likely that they'll know who set the monster on them, or even what the monster itself was."

"If only there was a witness left over," Daphne agreed with a sigh.

The group looked at each other. "You said the girl who died was in the bathroom when it happened." Tracy repeated. "But...what if she never left?

"No!" Harry nearly jumped out of his skin when a young girl's voice suddenly came from one of the toilets. A moment later, a ghost appeared from one of the stalls. She was a student judging by her size, with glasses and pigtails. "I'm Moaning Myrtle, and I was too upset to move on. I had been crying in the bathroom when I heard a noise outside. I opened the door to tell who it was to buzz off...and boom! I was dead!" The ghost screeched. "I swore I wouldn't leave this bathroom until everyone was as upset as I was!"

Harry bit into his bottom lip, fairly certain that if he didn't he'd start laughing. It wasn't a funny situation, but the ghost's tone was so close to a baby whine he couldn't help it.

"Hello Myrtle." Daphne said, politely ignoring the explosion. "Do you remember anything about the thing that killed you?"

Myrtle blinked rapidly, as though deep in thought. "...The last thing I remember, is a pair of big, yellow, eyes, over by _that _sink."

Harry, Daphne and Tracy immediately ran over to the sink Myrtle was pointing too. It was one of several, but there was a snake inscribed on the side of the faucet. Harry ran his fingers over it and felt a cold thrill tingle on his skin.

"This must be the entrance." He breathed. "We've found the Chamber!"

"Now what?" Tracy whispered. "There's a hundred-foot long snake down there that will kill us if we look at it!"

"Well, we can't very well _leave _it there, or it will keep attacking students." Daphne said. "We have to find some way of stopping it."

"Well, unless you feel like jamming all the pipes – which, I assure you, will get us kicked out of school faster than any snake would," Harry began, and then snickered at Daphne and Tracy's revolted expressions, "our other option is to kill it."

Daphne frowned. "Kill it? Harry, this is one of the most dangerous creature's alive. How are you expecting to kill it? Wouldn't it be more prudent to go tell Headmaster Dumbledore about it?"

Harry rolled his eyes, "And do what, let him totally mishandle the whole thing, again, and leave it down there to keep attacking people? I bet I'd be the one tossed out of school this time – I'm an easy target, what with the way everyone's been talking about me."

Tracy was looking at the facet, "I've heard there's a kind of glasses that you can wear that offer you temporary protection from the Basilisk's eyes, but their unfathomably expensive." She turned on all the taps. "If you only see its reflection, you get petrified. It might be safer if there's more reflective surfaces." She explained.

Daphne turned on her heels, "Good thing it's Friday. Come on guys, Harry don't forget those books. I've got to go get in touch with Knockturn Alley and put in an order."

"Knockturn-?" Tracy started with a squeak as they walked out of the bathroom at a rapid pace.

Daphne nodded and said, "I'm going to do something _slightly _illegal, if the two of you would kindly look in the other direction for a little. It should get us what we need, hopefully without my parents even noticing – they gave me my own vault key the day I entered Hogwarts."

"Have you and Astoria switched heads?" Tracy asked wonderingly. "Usually you're encouraging her not to do anything rash."

Daphne scowled at her, "No, I'm just more discreet about my opinions. It never hurts to be careful, especially when you're a pureblood girl. Harry, find out more about the Basilisk and its weak spots. Tracy, don't let anyone know what we're up to."

At this, Tracy looked indigent. "I wasn't about to give you away! For Merlin's sake Greengrass, we're friends!"

"Then use my first name, please." Daphne said with a smirk.

"All right. Yes, Daphne," Tracy and Harry both said. Harry smirked at Daphne, who instead of blushing and looking away just met his eyes steadily, a flash of something there that wasn't there before.

Maybe it was the look in her eyes, but it seemed to be the first time Harry registered that Daphne was just as pretty as her sister. And with that thought came a tightness in his chest that he couldn't explain.

%&%&%&%&%&%&&%%&&%

"Hi Ash, how's you're day?" Daphne asked distractedly from where she was filling out an official form to send to a dealer in Knockturn. It was a dodgy place, but it had what she needed at a lower price due to the fact her family was old.

"It could be better – Daphne, have you seen Ginny Weasley anywhere?" Astoria asked.

"Ginny? Uh, no, not since yesterday." Daphne said. "I think she likes to have some space, since not everyone's been receptive of her Sorting."

Astoria snorted. "Understatement. You know why I was in trouble with McGonagall soon after school started?"

"Why?"

"I punched her brother Ron in the face when he called her 'a slimy snake, nothing but trouble'. I don't think it hurt as much as he made it out to."

Daphne winced. She knew from experience that Astoria's punches were painful.

"But that's not the point. She's acting weird. Maya Jones – our new prefect, remember? - says that she's been sneaking off to some hiding place constantly, and whenever she came back to the dorm she looked like she'd been run through the mill."

Daphne paused her writing and considered that. She hadn't seen very much of Ginny, since the first years had largely different classes, but when she thought about it the redhead had looked pretty battered as of recently.

"And I _seriously _doubt she's usually as meek as she's been acting." Astoria went on. "Me and Rushman have been trying to keep track of her, but she disappeared after dinner yesterday and I haven't seen her in any of my classes."

Daphne finished her letter and handed it to Hedwig. "There's something in this school that's attacking students," she said. "Do you think it caught her?"

Astoria's eyes widened, and worry began to fill her. "But I checked all the usual places, and I haven't seen her body."

"That's probably a good sign." Daphne said. "Harry has an inkling of what's in the Chamber, but we'll need serious equipment if we're going after it." Hedwig flew out the window.

"What's that?" Astoria asked, walking over to the window.

"Nothing good," Daphne said seriously. She then turned to her sister and handed her a package. "You better hold onto this. Use it whenever your in the hallways, check around corners, everything."

Astoria opened it. "A mirror fragment?" She turned to her sister. "You don't think the monster's a Cockatrice?"

"No," Daphne said grimly, "We think it's a basilisk."

Astoria's eyes widened again, and she said several words that would have had her mother deliver an hour long lecture on how that sort of language was unbecoming of a girl of her standing. "Okay, where did you learn those words?" Daphne demanded.

"I have to go _somewhere _when I get out of the house." Astoria muttered. "And it's refreshing after having to be so polite all the time. You should try it."

Daphne resisted the urge to smack her sister, thinking about how disappointed her parents would be in her if she didn't act like the beautiful, upright ice queen that she was raised to be. Harry's friendship with her wasn't just affecting him. "Try to take this seriously. This is dangerous."

"I am taking it seriously!" Astoria protested, looking very put out. "Basilisks are serious, as a rule. I'm just worried about my dorm mate. She could be anywhere, and that creature's sneaking around right under the teacher's noses. And they don't seem to be very worried about it!"

Daphne looked sharply at her sister. "Ash, have you been telling other people this?"

"No," Astoria scowled and recited her mother's favorite phrase, "As the benefits of a good Slytherin girl, I know when not to talk."

"Good. I don't know how well Harry's concern is founded, but he doesn't have a good feeling about Headmaster Dumbledore."

"Doesn't? Why? Isn't he, what, one of the greatest wizards of all time?"

"There's just something off about him. Something wrong. Something fake. And sometimes I get that feeling too – there is no way how he twinkles his eyes at people is natural."

"So _you're _going to deal with the basilisk?" Astoria asked. When Daphne nodded, she said, "I want in."

"No way." Daphne said hotly. "I'm not putting you in danger!"

"But you're my sister! And _you'll _be in danger." Astoria said stubbornly. "I have to go with you!"

Daphne groaned. This was going to be a long argument.

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It was the dead of night, but Harry wasn't even the slightest bit tired. He barely felt it, not with the whispers in the hall and the knowledge of what was in the basement. There was little doubt that sleep would only come when the monster was defeated.

Basilisk skin was, for the most part, spell resistant. Fire was very irritating, but couldn't kill it, and it would take dozens of cutting curses to get past its scales. Its venom could kill a fully-grown troll easily, and it was fast-acting. There were precious few things that it was vulnerable too, but thankfully there was something inside this school that could help him. Unfortunately, it would be a bit difficult to snatch.

_Hogwarts – A History _had been kind enough to inform him that the Sword of Gryffindor had goblin enchantments on it, and its silver could kill the monster in question. Unfortunately, it was in the Headmaster's office, and it said that it would come only to one with 'true Gryffindor qualities'.

_Well, _Harry thought, _it's probably noble, daring and chivalrous to go stop the evil snake that's petrifying all the students. So unless Professor Dumbledore has changed the password since the last time, I can still get inside. _

He grabbed his invisibility cloak, put it on and hurried down the stairwell. He approached the gargoyle that concealed the entrance to the Headmaster's office when suddenly, Dumbledore and McGonagall both emerged from it, McGonagall looking frantic, and they both disappeared down the hallway.

_That was convenient. _Harry's stomach suddenly went cold. _Too convenient. Someone else has been attacked. I have to hurry. _

Now with more speed behind him, he went up to the gargoyle, "Sherbert Lemon!"

The door swung open and he ran inside. Dumbledore's phoenix made a curious noise as Harry scrambled inside, looking around wildly. "Sword, sword...where the hell is it?" He muttered.

"Looking for this?"

The voice was so unexpected Harry nearly gave himself whiplash turning around. The hat that had sorted him last year was perched on the edge of a shelf. And from within him, there was a glittering ruby handle.

"Go," The hat whispered. "And quickly. Their lives are on the line."

Harry didn't need any more prompting. He grabbed the handle and unsheathed the gleaming silver sword, before turning and running back outside.

It didn't take him too long to find the scene – and what a scene it was.

The teachers were gathered around another bloody message on the wall. McGonagall sounded dispairing, Snape actually looked worried and slightly stricken, and standing at the corner just out of sight was -

"Astoria?"

The blonde spun around, clutching a brown package as if her life depended on it, tears of anger flooding down her cheeks. "It's got them, Harry!" She whispered, although she couldn't see them. "It's got Ginny and my sister!"

_Their skeletons will lie in the chamber forever. _

**End Chapter**

**Yes. Cliffhanger. I am evil, and proud of it. **


	12. Chapter 12

**Trouble**

**Hello, I'm back! Here's the next chapter. Sorry if you don't like the part with the basilisk, I freely admit I'm rubbish at battle scenes. But I hope you enjoy it nonetheless! Now, I do not own Harry Potter and enjoy!**

**Chapter 12: Tom Riddle**

Harry waited several painful minutes for the teachers to talk about what to do, and then for them to tell that Lockhart idiot to go into the chamber to save Ginny and Daphne.

Bloody Lockhart? They were kidding, right? They were going to depend on someone to go and save those girls and they asked _Lockhart_? The guy who couldn't handle a cage full of pixies. The guy who got knocked backwards by a single spell. The guy who did nothing but talk about how amazing he was and had the most overinflated ego Harry had ever seen. The guy who had done _nothing _to back up any of the amazing things he'd claimed to do in his books in school. The guy who's most pressing concern was weather or not he was winning the Most Charming Smile award. That was their idea of a saviour.

The...the _idiocy_...the complete and utter incompetence on the half of the staff...bloody hell, did they _want _Ginny and Daphne to die? Because if it was up to Lockhart, they would! There was no way under the sun that guy could take care of a Basilisk!

Harry was beginning to wonder if he should be transferring to a school where people were less likely to die, and the teachers actually gave a damn about the students they were supposed to be looking after! To quote the oh so elegant Carrie, _this was bullshit! _

He waited a single second for the teachers to disperse, and then bolted down the hallway into the girl's bathroom, Astoria and Tracy right on his heels. He didn't tell either of them to let him do it alone, there just wasn't time and help was always useful. Fear dissipated and left anger and power behind; the children who entered the bathroom were soldiers, not students. It shouldn't have been them; it should have been an adult, but no one who could help would, and it was someone they were close to on the line.

He skidded to a halt in front of the sink that he was sure was the entrance. Astoria and Tracy nearly ran into him. "How does it open?" Tracy hissed, glancing about the sink as though she was expecting to see a magic lever of some sort.

Without thinking, Harry barked, "_Open!", _not even noticing that he had slipped into Parseltongue. An unnatural hissing noise left his throat. It didn't matter. He was on a mission, and they were running out of time.

Obediently, the sink gave way to a long, dark tunnel. Harry glanced over his shoulder at Astoria and Tracy, who were looking determined and angry. He shared the sentiment. It was their friend and sister on the line. The teachers wouldn't save them so they would.

He jumped down into the hole, the girls right behind him. They hit the ground, or more rather the dozens and dozens of skulls that were littering the floor of the chamber. Tracy let out a squeak of disgust and pushed herself to her feet.

The room gave out to a tunnel, which twisted further down underneath the school. There was some water on the floor, which made Harry think that it ran under the lake. It looked like he had

Astoria stood up straight, and said, "Do we have a plan?"

Harry held up the sword he had retrieved by the handle.

"Where'd you get that?" Tracy asked, startled. "That hasn't been seen around the castle in centuries. The last person who used it was Gryffindor's late champion, William Bennett."

"I went to the Headmaster's office right before he ran off." Harry replied. "This can kill the Basilisk. Not a lot gets past its scales but fire is painful for it, it hates it. Daphne said she was going to get something that protected our eyes for a little while, but I don't know-"

"I got it," Astoria said. Harry turned his head and saw her tearing the package open, before pulling out three pairs of what resembled sunglasses. "She dropped them...before-" She stopped talking and stared down the hallway. Under the anger was a very real fear for her sister's safety.

"She's going to be fine. They're going to be fine," Harry said, taking his pair of glasses. The flash of Daphne's challenging stare burned into his memory. His heart clenched. She was one of his first real (magical) friends, and he wasn't going to loose her.

"Tell us about the Basilisk." Tracy whispered, wand in hand.

"It's over sixty feet long, a strike from the tail could kill you. Keen sense of hearing and scent as well as sight. Don't get bitten, its venom is fast-acting and lethal." Harry reeled off. He'd read up on the monster before heading down. "First plan would be to put out its eyes, as a precaution, and then somehow hit its heart. Or it's skull, but that would require going through the mouth, not the most inspired idea when dealing with a Basilisk, but it's possible."

"That is such a Gryffindor thing to suggest." Astoria muttered. "It'll also be likely to get you killed, you know."

"Possibly. I live dangerously."

"Paralysing charms probably won't work well on something that big," Tracy said cautiously as they began to make their way forward. "Maybe we could force it into the water and freeze it. It would slow it down."

"Keep that in mind," Astoria muttered.

There were more skulls the further down they walked, though thankfully they were animal bones, as far as any of them could tell. It wasn't long before they reached an enormous snake skin.

"I didn't know Basilisks shed," Astoria whispered, stepping over the tail part.

"It's huge," Tracy muttered.

Harry didn't comment. "Come on. I think there's an entrance over there." He said in a soft voice. They all put their glasses on and hurried forward.

"_Open,_" Harry ordered again. The massive door swung open, and after a hesitant second all three students walked inside.

It was a big place, with long trenches of water going down each side. The light seemed to be tainted green, hanging over them with a heavy air. There was a massive, Medusa-like statue and the end of the hall, and right in front of it...

Astoria let out a cry like a small child and bolted across the hall. The source of her distress was clear – Daphne was lying on the floor, completely motionless and pale as death. A few feet away from her was Ginny, also motionless and limp, an expression of pain and fear etched onto her unconscious face.

Harry and Tracy were catching up with her, hearing Astoria mutter, "Daph, Daph wake up! Don't be dead. Look at me!" was almost physically painful. Seeing his friends like this made Harry angrier than ever before, he dropped to his knees to check on Ginny.

The girl's skin was cold to the touch. Harry checked for a pulse and felt a very weak one. He nodded to Tracy before turning his attention to Daphne. Astoria was hanging over her sister, tears spilling down her cheeks,

"Wake up, Daph...wake up..." She lifted her sister's upper body and shook it; Daphne didn't respond, her head lolling from the shakes it was getting.

"She won't wake." A strange male voice said from somewhere behind them. All three students turned around to see a raven-haired boy in a Hogwarts uniform standing near the Medusa statue, watching them closely. He was blurry around the edges, as if he were something not fully formed.

Tracy immediately got her wand out and pointed it at him, "Who are you?" She demanded.

"Riddle. Tom Riddle." The boy responded, taking a few silent steps towards the gaggle of students. "I wasn't expecting you to know...I put a lot of effort into distancing myself from this old name."

Harry got to his feet and leveled a cold glare at the boy, "What did you do to them?"

"Me?" The boy raised an eyebrow as if he couldn't understand why Harry would ask him such a question. "I merely asked that Miss Ginerva keep writing to me. I wasn't expecting Greengrass to follow her down here...House loyalty was not something I was familiar with, you see."

Astoria put her sister down. Her slender fingers picked up a small black book that had fallen in between the two comatose girls.

She raised her eyes to Riddle, which were burning hotly through her tears. "What's this?"

"A diary," Tom responded airily. "My old diary, to be exact."

"Most diaries don't knock people out," Harry said. He shot both Tracy and Astoria a meaningful look; if there was one thing an overconfident criminal loved to do, it was to tell you exactly how he got away with it when he thought he was safe.

Such was the fragility of genius – it always needed an audience.

"I worked old magic on this particular book a long time ago," Tom said. "It has...special properties, if you will. Little Ginny has been writing in it for a few months now. Pouring her little heart into it, she did. Telling me all these ridiculous worries – about how she was scared something _bad _would happen to her because she got Sorted into Slytherin, that there might be something wrong with her, that no one would like her, that she would be in trouble for taking a _car _to Hogwarts."

He rolled his eyes. "Listening, and pretending to be sympathetic to the woes of a teenager is exceptionally irritating...but I was patient, I was kind. I helped her hold herself like a natural Slytherin while I drained her life out of her. I was patient, kind. She loved it, she was so lonely and frightened..."

He smirked at Harry's revolted expression and Tracy's horrified one and continued, "She killed Hagrid's chickens and painted the messages on the wall. Why? Because I asked her too. You'll find, I think, that I am very persuasive when I need to be."

There was a pause before he said, "You know, I was surprised that Hagrid was back at Hogwarts, after I blamed the first opening of the Chamber on him."

"I knew it," Harry growled. "You know, that was easily the _dumbest _choice of victims you could have gone for. That was your best choice? I'm amazed that anyone believed that a half-giant was the heir of the purity-obsessed Slytherin!"

"Harry!" Tracy whispered uneasily, but Harry kept his eyes on Tom. He wanted to make him angry, because angry people always made dangerous mistakes. It worked on Dudley and his gang and it would work on Riddle.

Sure enough, Tom glared at him, before saying, "You'd be surprised by what people will do when they're not willing to accept a possibility, Potter. Hagrid was an easy target – he was half-giant, as you said, and he was in a habit of keeping giant, monstrous pets. There was no way anyone would believe his word over mine, an upstanding member of high society."

He then said, "Eventually, Ginny figured out what was going on around her – I suppose there would have to be reason she was in Slytherin – and she went to the library to find out more about what I had done to my book. She came close..._un_comfortably close to figuring out exactly what I had used to create it. Of course, I couldn't have that, because she would have gone straight to her _muggle-loving _father and that old meddler of a headmaster. I had to eliminate her. Unfortunately, my rushed response got more attention then I wanted."

He scowled in Daphne's direction.

"Ginny's dorm mates were starting to notice what was wrong with her, and you, Astoria Greengrass, told your sister. Daphne went out looking for her and came across me when I materialized from the book. I was forced to drag her into the Chamber along with Ginny lest I be discovered. It took much more energy than I would have liked to force her to write in the diary until she, too, fell silent."

He glanced at Astoria. "Do you know what your sister's greatest fear is?" He smiled maliciously. "It is that you, with your political mind and determination and hatred of pureblood custom, would abandon her. She wants, more than anything, to please her parents, to be the princess they want her to be, but she loves you as well, and knew that accepting her parents wishes could mean breaking ties with you – permanently.

And that, dear Ash, was the thought that put her in my power."

Astoria had stood up, swallowing hard, her hands shaking with the force of her anger. "You bastard." She spat, whipping out her wand.

"It would have been frustrating, but a minor setback to have two deaths instead of one. But the three of you followed her into my Chamber, and now things have gotten a little out of hand." Tom concluded, scowling once again.

He swept his eyes around the students. Harry was watching him with a cold expression, wand in hand. Tracy had hers pointed at him, ready to respond at any second. Astoria was seconds away from firing a curse.

"So if we destroy this diary, they'll turn back?" Astoria eyed the black book with narrowed eyes.

"I wouldn't recommend that." Tom's voice had grown sharp, like a whip-crack. "If you value everything you hold dear."

"You're threatening what we hold dear right now," Harry informed him icily. "What could a little more threat do to us?"

Tom's eyes narrowed. "I think you would be wise to heed my warnings!" With that, he waved a hand, causing the words Tom Marvalo Riddle to appear in the air. With another wave, they re-arranged themselves into the words I Am Lord Voldemort.

Tracy squeaked in horror and shock. Harry merely glowered. He had been harbouring suspicions that the attacks were connected to him, due to Voldemort being a Slytherin when he was in school and his snake motif. Now he was facing the man who had killed his parents.

"You see? I was already using this name when I was in school, among my most intimate of companions only, of course. You didn't think I was going to use my filthy muggle name forever, did you? I, in who's veins courses the blood of Salazar Slytherin himself, through my mother's family, tie myself through blood to the worthless muggle father who abandoned me to cold and death because he found out my mother was a witch? No, children, I fashioned a new name for myself, under which I would become the greatest sorcerer of all time!"

Harry merely listened to this monologue until it was over, and then said, in a tone of incredulity, "...You made an _anagram _ofyour name? Are you kidding me? Were you _five _when you came up with that?" He snickered, and then started laughing, putting his face in one hand.

Tracy gave him a look that clearly said she thought he had lost his sanity. Tom's superior expression had warped into something ugly.

"Seriously!" Harry chuckled, before looking up again and fixing Riddle with an insolent look. "You know who I hear doing that kind of thing? Teenage muggle criminals who are trying to act more clever then they really are." He paused. "But that was what you were back then, weren't you? A petty teenage criminal."

"Shut up!" Riddle snapped harshly.

"You said you had a 'filthy muggle' for a father," Harry went on, tapping his wand to the side of his head in feigned deep contemplation. "Is that why you decided all muggleborns had to die? You were throwing a tantrum over the fact that daddy never wanted you? That's not scary. That's pathetic!"

"Enough! I wouldn't expect a pampered little hero brat like you to understand!" Riddle snarled.

Harry cocked his head and said, "Oh, I understand perfectly, Riddle. Of course, I didn't know my parents because _you murdered them_-" his expression grew dangerous at that, "I spent my life living with my aunt and uncle Dursley. Want to know something? They despise magic. I can't count the number of times I was thrown in a cupboard, hit with a frying pan or denied food for days over any little bit of accidental magic. They might as well have dumped me in Azkaban, because the effect they had on me was just the same. I was never happy. I was always afraid and angry. I preferred living in a _children's prison _to their house,Tommy."

Both Astoria and Tracy took a second out of this deadly situation to stare at Harry in blank shock and horror when he said this.

"It had a bad effect on me. I lied. I stole. I cheated. But you know what? I'm not going around murdering people! So you became a mass-murderer because he didn't acknowledge you?"

He paused meaningfully and then went in for the kill. "Gee, if his approval meant that much to you, I think there were more likely ways to earn it than murdering him, you know."

That did it. Riddle exploded, "I WANTED NOTHING FROM THAT WOTHLESS WASTE OF LIFE! NOT PRIDE! NOT AFFECTION! NOT COMFORT! I DIDN'T NEED HIM, AND I'M GLAD THAT I KILLED HIM!"

"But you just _said _that you became a mass-murderer because he never loved you," Harry pointed out sarcastically. "Wasn't that what you meant?"

Evidently, the whole situation was a little too much for Tracy, because she broke down laughing. She laughed so hard that tears of mirth fell down her face.

Riddle really did look like he was going to explode; his spectral form shuddered violently. "You'll die for this insult, Potter, you and your friends!" He spun around to face the Medusa statue.

Harry immediately pulled Astoria and Tracy closer to him. They adjusted their glasses and raised their wands while Harry drew the sword of Gryffindor. "Avoid looking at it if you can," He said. "Focus on the body. And remember, get out of the way if it gets close."

"_Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts four," _Riddle snarled.

The mouth of Medusa opened, and a massive form slid out of the darkness, curling up in the water trench. Two hateful, malevolent yellow eyes fixed on the trio. It was just as huge as the book had said; its tail could probably pulverize every bone in their bodies.

Their glasses started to smoke. As if they had one mind, they shouted, _"Blizziga!" _

The water froze over, trapping the snake inside, giving them a clear view of its head.

"_Reducto!" _Astoria and Tracy shouted. The snake uttered a cutting scream as the curses struck its eyes; the noise threatened to send Harry to his knees, but he kept his eyes on the prize. Raising the sword of Gryffindor, he darted past Ginny and Daphne and Riddle and right onto the snake's back.

He swore as the creature broke loose of its frigid confines, throwing its head back while it was at it. Only his death grip on its horns kept him from being flung into the back wall.

Astoria and Tracy immediately backed up, casting Incendio on either side of the basilisk, circling it, not letting it pick a target. Harry shuffled his weight, trying to balance long enough to drive the Sword into the creature's head, some of the blood from its eye wounds being splashed against his face.

Riddle screamed up at the creature, "_You can smell them! Pick one and stick with it!" _

"Girls!" Harry yelled, "I need it to open its mouth!"

Astoria's eyes widened behind her shades, and she nodded, yelling, "Hey! Snake-face! Over here!" before firing another Incendio at the basilisk. The monster swung its head in her direction and lowered down, intending to snap her up. Astoria was backing up, but not fast, she glared defiantly at the creature, not moving an inch despite it being almost on top of her –

Harry somersaulted off the creature's head as soon as it was low enough. His shoulder screamed in protest when it slammed into the stone floor, but he ignored it, spinning around and then coming right up with all the strength in his young body.

The target hit dead centre. Warm blood gushed down on Harry, but there was a piercing agony in one of his arms. He ripped the blade out – it had gone straight through the basilisk's head – and looked at his arm. A single basilisk fang was buried in it.

The basilisk gave a single scream of pain when finally, after a thousand years, Slytherin's creature fell down dead.

Harry hissed in pain, grabbing the part of his arm that was injured. Both his blood and the blood of the basilisk was all over him, and made him feel quite sticky, but currently he was focused on the pain. It bit him. Damn it, he had meant to avoid that – now all he could do was pray that Poppy would have a remedy for that inadvisable move...

"Harry!" Astoria saw it too; her mouth had dropped open in fear. "Harry, damn it, that's bad, I told you that was a stupid move-"

Harry nodded before wincing. The pain in his arm threatened to get steadily worse. Both girls were standing on either side of him. "Not now – there's something we have to deal with."

Ignoring the pain, he struggled over to Voldemort's catty little diary and looked down at it for a second. Then he looked up at Riddle, who was staring at the three of them in utter disbelief.

Harry stared at him for a second before, in a calm, false casual tone, waved the sword of Gryffindor around. "Hum. Useful, this things is, isn't it? A letter-opener _and _a basilisk-killing machine." His eyes narrowed. "I wonder what else it can do."

Riddle paled – well, more than he already was – and shouted, _"NO!_" But it was too late, Harry raised the Sword and drove it into the diary with all his remaining force.

The Sword tore right through it and hit the stone floor of the Chamber. Ink gushed out of it and poured all over the floor, as though Harry had just rammed it through someone's heart. Riddle gave a scream much like the basilisk and exploded into a shimmer of light.

Harry dropped to his knees. The pain in his arm was getting steadily worse, but both the monster and the diary were destroyed. He'd done what he had come down here to do, and despite his wound he felt a smirk crossing his face.

Both Ginny and Daphne groaned simultaneously and pushed themselves into sitting positions. Surprisingly, it was Ginny who found her voice first, turning her head to see Harry kneeling in front of her.

"Harry? Merlin, you have to believe me, there's this guy named Riddle and he was using the diary to make me open the door to the chamber-" She broke off abruptly when she saw his arm. "Harry! Your arm!"

Pushing her own nightmarish ordeal to the side, Ginny scrambled over to Harry's side. Daphne, shaking her head to organize her thoughts, joined her a second later when she realized what was going on. Ginny reached out and tugged the fang loose, anxiously examining the scar.

"Oh no, oh no, oh no..." She whispered.

Harry just had time to register a musical cry and the blurry image of a red-and-gold phoenix before the world went dark.

%&%&%&%&%&&%&%&%&%

"...rry. ...arry. Harry. Harry!"

Harry blinked several times. His eyelids felt heavy, like he hadn't slept in an entire week. Slowly, he raised a hand and ran it through his perpetually messy hair, trying to make sense out of last night. God, why was everything so confusing? Why did his arm feel tender?

His hand slid down his chest and touched a bone. He blinked again, pushed himself into a sitting position, saw the fang dangling from the string -

-and he remembered everything, the basilisk, Riddle, Daphne and Ginny-

"Harry!" Suddenly he was wrapped in a double embrace; both the Greengrass sisters had hugged him.

"Ow! Gently," Harry protested. Astoria and Daphne, who was now looking much more healthy than she had the last time he had seen her, blushed sheepishly and released him. He took a deep breath and looked around. He was in the hospital wing, but all the students who had been petrified were gone from the beds they had occupied.

"How long was I out?"

"Almost a full day," Tracy supplied, before shoving a potion under his nose. "Take this Pepper-Up potion. Doctor's orders."

Harry nodded, his fingers fumbling with the vial as he tipped it back and drained it dry. Everything became clear and focused, and wakefulness came to him. He glanced down at the place where the fang had dug into his skin – the wound had completely closed over, the only indication that it had been there at all was a thin scar.

"We thought you might want to keep the fang as a trophy." Daphne said. "So we put it on a chain for you."

"Thanks," Harry said, fingering the fang that had almost killed him. "So, what did I miss?"

Astoria whistled. "A whole lot. It was nothing short of total anarchy when we emerged from the Chamber – there were parents and aurors running around everywhere, dozens of Howlers were going off at the same time, Rita Skeeter was there for Merlin's sake!, and this funny Auror named Tonks had to stop my mum and dad from murdering the Headmaster. Apparently the fact that there was a giant snake going around petrifying students hadn't been public knowledge until Daphne and Ginny got dragged into the chamber, and the parents were flipping out. Especially dad; I have never seen him scream like that, he's always so in control-"

"-The Minister was there, Skeeter was there because she's putting the whole thing into the Prophet. I'm really angry about that, you know! She acts like you were the only hero and we were all helpless damsels who didn't do anything," Tracy said in annoyance.

"What?" Harry asked, irritated, "I can't see how I could have defeated that monster without your help."

"Yeah, thanks – well the minister was there because Dumbledore has to face an enquiry of how all these attacks went on under his nose, and how a bunch of students were the ones who a) figured out what the monster was and b) were the ones who killed it, when he knew perfectly well where they were because _after _they defeated the monster, he sent his phoenix to get them out."

"Wait," Harry's dazed mind took a second to process this, "You mean he _knew _we were in the Chamber? He just let us face the 1000-year-old monster without even a sliver of support and sent help _after _it nearly killed us?"

Astoria nodded vehemently, "That's all I heard, dad was all but dragging Dumbledore out the front door, I lost them there."

"That son of a bitch!" Harry shouted. "We could have died! He could have gone down and gotten Daphne and Ginny, but he just sat there!"

It was at this moment that he realized someone was missing. "Speaking of whom, where is Ginny? Shouldn't she be in the infirmary, she was exposed to Riddle's soul-sucking diary for at least a couple months."

At this, all three girls became quiet. Astoria's expression went from one of triumph to homicidal anger. "Minster Fudge deserves to get ripped apart by Centaurs." She ground out, "and Lucius Malfoy should _die in a fire._"

Harry's heart jumped. That wasn't good. "What happened?"

"Our Minister, in his infinant wisdom, decided that Ginny was the Heir of Slytherin." Tracy replied stonily.

"WHAT? !" Harry swung his legs over the side and got out of bed, eyes blazing. "Ginny, heir of Slytherin? Didn't you tell him what happened in the Chamber?"

Astoria's nostrils flared, "Oh yeah, we sure did! But then Malfoy Sr said that she was obviously using disillusionment magic to hide her identity under a fifty-year-old student in an attempt to avoid capture! He said that his son had been reporting her so-called student attacks and threatening behaviour for the last three weeks! Said she was showing signs of 'dark magic' because she was furious with her placement, because she was among respectable purebloods when she was a mere blood traitor."

"He _claimed_," Daphne growled, "that his house elf had recognized her as the Heir and was trying to block her from getting to Hogwarts, but she got there by a stolen muggle artifact."

"We told Dumbledore too, but he just said that there was no way it could be Riddle, because reviving a memory the way we described takes a branch of magic that doesn't exist." Tracy snarled. "So he just merrily handed Ginny over to the Minister, who's going to throw her in prison!"

"Prison!" Harry repeated in disbelief. "They're sending her to Juvie for something she didn't do?"

"No. Not the youth detention centres that you say the muggles have." Daphne's eyes were mere slits at this point. "They're doing something much more insidious – something completely unforgivable."

"Wizarding Britain has only one jail, Harry." Tracy said. "They're sending her to Azkaban."

A total, stony silence hung in the air. Harry stared at the girls, hoping one of them would discount this information as an exaggeration or misinformation. When none of them did, the lamp on his table exploded into a million pieces.

"Of course, they aren't saying that _officially_," Astoria ground out. "They say there just putting her in a Ministry holding cell, but that's a bloody lie – Malfoy has a blood feud against the Weasleys, has had one ever since he was in school with them. They thwarted lots of his restrictions against Muggleborns and stopped one of his Death Eater raids. Nothing would make him happier than throwing one of their children into a living hell, as punishment for getting in his way. He manipulates Fudge like a marionette, so he agreed to it."

Harry shook his head slowly.

They were going to throw an eleven-year-old girl into Azkaban to be tormented by Dementors?

They were. With this realization came both a burning fury and the same sharp clarity that Daphne being taken to the Chamber did. "Where's the port that leads to Azkaban? Where's the closest muggle settlement?"

"It's near the west end of London." Daphne said. "I can show you the town on a map – Harry, what are we going to do?"

Harry had a house elf give him his backpack before saying, "Right now, we're cutting school. I'm going to grab the car and go out until I get cell phone reception. Then I'm going to make a few calls. Ginny Weasley will not set a foot inside Azkaban if I have anything to say about it." He headed for the halls.

"Who are you contacting?" Daphne asked.

"I know a few people in low places." Harry said, "It'll never occur to them, since a lot of wizards seem to think it's below them to have actual muggle contacts. And they have just the kind the help we'll be needing. I don't do this very often, but this time I have exactly what they'll ask of me."

The girls ran to keep step with him. "Just a warning, Harry," Tracy said, "if someone was to actually escape from Azkaban, the response would be to put a 'kiss on sight' order on that person."

"I couldn't give less of a damn, Tracy. I didn't survive ten years at the Dursleys by playing by the rules, and I'm never going to leave a friend to the Dementors." Harry retorted simply. Tracy nodded in acceptance of this and they continued their race down the hallway.

They were about to turn a corner that usually lead out to Hagrid's hut when they saw Dumbledore talking to some of the board of governors. He looked over, and when he saw them he gestured for them to wait before walking towards them.

"Harry, my boy. It's good to see you're out of bed, but shouldn't you remain in the hospital for a while?" The man said, his eyes twinkling a bit.

Harry didn't look at him. "Sir, I can't simply lie down and stare at the ceiling when one of my friends is being thrown in a prison for something I know she's innocent of."

"My boy, the evidence is against Miss Weasley." The man said in what was meant to be a placating tone, but just came across as condescending. "I understand you were confused -"

"I'm not confused about anything." Harry retorted. "And I find it difficult to believe that a first year would be able to preform a concealment charm of that power capacity. Any again, let me reiterate – I am _not _leaving a friend to rot in jail."

"Perhaps you should speak with Mr. Weasley and his family, then. They're going to put for a defensive petition to get her out of trouble."

That would be nice. There were a least a dozen compulsion charms that fell through when Harry befriended Greengrass instead of Ron Weasley on the train, and the relationship he had intended for him to have between the boy and Miss Granger also failed when the boy refused to tolerate her rule-abiding nature. It was frustrating because now he had no idea what the boy was up to on a regular basis, and he was far too reckless and free-form for Dumbledore's comfort. He wanted to get the boy under his thumb as quickly as possible.

"No," Harry said. "I'm going to to speak to Hagrid. He was, after all, the last guy who got expelled and nearly thrown in prison because the people involved couldn't be bothered to investigate his case even a little bit."

Dumbledore scowled. He wished the boy would _just _look him in the eye; he wanted to see what was going on inside his head. "I'm afraid I must insist you stay inside, Harry."

"Sir, the threat has passed," Daphne Greengrass pointed out. "It's safe to go outside now. And this is a matter of importance to all of us."

"Children, I act as 'a loco parentis' while you are at school, and I do not think this decision is in your best interests."

"Why?" Harry raised an eyebrow challengingly, looking Dumbledore in the face for the first time. "I'm just going to have a chat with the gamekeeper. So unless there's something -really- serious that you don't seem to want me to know, there should be no reason I can't go."

Without waiting for a response, he shouldered past Dumbledore and ran double-time down the hall and outside, Daphne and Tracy on his heels.

Dumbledore was shaken. Somehow, Harry knew that he had lied about there being no magic that could allow Riddle to store part of him in his diary. He didn't know the specifics, but now he knew that under the boy's shirt he was carrying a basilisk fang.

No, he couldn't have that information falling into the wrong hands. It pained him to hand Ginny over to the Ministry; he was under no delusions that Malfoy would merely put her in a ministry holding cell.

But he couldn't have the knowledge of the Horcruxes falling out of his hands, so he wouldn't let any of them believe that Ginny was telling the truth about the diary. There was already a huge debackle after his head because of all the attacks, Daniel Greengrass had demanded he be removed from office. It had taken many favours to hold onto his position, and he wasn't out of the woods yet. The Skeeter woman was already writing about

To defeat Voldemort, the information needed to lie with someone who was willing to make sacrifices for the Greater Good. He'd have to set up a way to get into the boy's confidence as soon as possible. Perhaps he could pay off the Davis girl; he would keep that in mind.

%&%&%&%&%&%&%&&%

Astoria was following on Harry's heels as they went back to where they had hidden Arthur Weasley's car months before. Mercifully, it was still there and hadn't been hauled for evidence. Rapidly Harry activated it and the girls piled inside.

Harry immediately put it in gear and they drove off, onto the tracks and then up into the air. Astoria hit the invisibility gear when people turned to look at it.

"I think they might have seen us," She said.

"They saw the car, they didn't see us," Daphne responded. "Harry, we can direct you there, just listen to everything I say..."

It took hours, but eventually the cat touched down in a rain-soaked street late afternoon, near a series of docks that lay against the lake. If you squinted a bit, you could see a tiny island in the distance with something rising out of it.

Harry opened his phone, punched in a few numbers and waited.

%&%&%&%&%&&%&&%&%&

In a darkened bedroom, a phone started going off. A young, tanned hand grabbed it and held it above his face, squinting at the numbers, muttering in irritation over having been interrupted.

"Mmm, Raleigh." A girl sighed, "you aren't _actually _going to answer that, are you?"

"Dear, it could be business, just – just give me a sec, and you've got my full attention," The young man promised. His partner gave a sultry giggle and lay down again, the blankets wrapped around her nimble figure.

Raleigh hit the 'talk' button and said, "You've reached Raleigh Pentacost." He ran his free hand through his messy blonde hair. Hopefully this wasn't a snitch; he'd had to shut up at least four police officers over the course of the last year. Thankfully, only two of those had had messy results. He preferred not to slaughter people unless the situation truly called for it.

There was a short pause as a boy's voice came across the connection. A familiar young voice; a boy with black hair and green eyes flashed in front of his eyes. "Potter? I admit, I'm surprised to be hearing from you. I thought you didn't want to join up," He said.

There was another pause, and the boy's agitated voice sounded again. "Hum? A female friend? Wrongful incarceration? You want my help?"

A confirmation. Raleigh leaned back; despite his occupation he liked children and wouldn't mind bailing one out. However, money didn't grow on trees. "You know that doesn't come cheap."

There was a pause as Potter replied, and after a second Raleigh shot straight up. "Are you kidding? Solid gold? You better not be making this up." More chatter. "You're having me, aren't you?" Vehement denial. "Okay, you've got my attention. What do you need?"

There was another long pause. "Right. Gotcha; my men will be over there by dinner. Send it anonymously to this address. And mind you – I will be checking it."

A cheerful confirmation. "Right. Good luck." Raleigh cut the connection and dialled again. "Hey, Marcus? I've got a job for you tonight. Get your stun wards and go to these docks. You're helping Potter extract a girl." There was a pause, and then Raleigh chuckled. "Hilarious. He's twelve, remember?" He chuckled, "Yeah, I suppose it couldn't hurt to get her off the market early. Anyway, make sure your there no later than the given time; your window is small. Call me when your done."

He shut off the phone and then lay down again. His partner giggled and ran her fingers over his bare chest. "What was that about?" She asked sweetly.

He smirked at her, "That, darling, is a job worth ten pounds in gold." She squealed as he pulled her on top of him.

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Auror Dawlish, one of the six Aurors leading Ginny to the docks, had no idea what hit him.

One minute, they were just waiting for the boat. The next, they were assaulted by dozens upon dozens of young men in black coats with masks. In the chaos, Dawlish's wand was knocked out of his hand and stepped on. Then there was a loud crack and the world went black.

When he eventually regained consciousness, their attackers had faded into the shadows as suddenly as they had appeared. Their charge, the apparent Heir of Slytherin, was gone. His head was ringing painfully. They were surrounded by muggle emergency vehicles.

He had demanded to know what had just happened. The muggle closest to his stretcher had explained that they had crossed the Blood Knight gang, who must have taken offence to their presence around the young girl.

Dawlish let his head hit the ground. He'd been cornered by _muggles, _who had the _nerve _to snap his wand,and now he was going to be _saved _by them. How was he supposed to show his face at work now? He'd be a laughing stock.

The obliviator team, when it finally got there, was working overtime to erase the muggle's memories of the place, since it was far to close to Azkaban for them to keep their memories of it. After they were finally done, they swept the area for the young suspect, but she had vanished without a trace.

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Ginny wasn't sure exactly how she felt.

Oh, she was definitely overjoyed that she had been rescued; her father had been to Azkaban once and said it was the worst experience of his life.

But apart from that, she was angry. How could Professor Dumbledore blame her for the attacks? They had all given him Pensive memories just like Mr. Greengrass and Mrs. Bones had said, and he still didn't believe them? He was okay with her just being dumped in Azkaban? Hadn't anyone protested? She was a good girl! She hadn't meant to hurt anyone. She didn't do it!

At this point, Ginny decided that if she ever saw Dumbledore again, it would be too soon.

They were sitting in the car while Harry ducked into Gringotts. Astoria had put the invisibility cloak over her, and she currently had Maria sitting on her lap, comforting her. She didn't ask why she was here; the distraction was welcome.

It was still raining as it got later, which she supposed complimented her mood. Harry finally emerged from inside the building, looking pleased.

"What was he doing?" Ginny asked.

"Paying the guys who helped us bust you out." Tracy explained.

Harry was halfway to the car when someone called out to him. Ginny couldn't hear very well, but she recognized the woman who walked up next to Harry and saying something to him. "Isn't that Rita Skeeter? What does she want?" Astoria wondered, following her gaze.

Harry turned on his heels and said something to Rita, who looked very pleased all of a sudden. Their conversation continued for a little, though none of the girls could hear it. Harry was gesturing animatedly and then pointed to the car. Rita nodded and raised a hand skyward. Harry nodded again and then walked towards the car, while Rita hurried off in another direction.

Harry swung in and shut the door, looking pleased. "Hey girls, feeling up to an interview?" He asked, smirking.

Ginny blinked twice – and then understood. "Oh yes, I think I would like that very much."

Astoria leaned over and pecked Harry on the cheek. "Just make sure she's actually writing what you're saying; sometimes she likes to 'change a few lines' for the sake of a story."

"Oh, don't worry," Harry chuckled, putting the car in gear. "She's going to love this."

**End Chapter**

**Yes. Harry Potter, Golden Gryffindor has Mob Contacts. Then again, he isn't so golden here, is he? The next chapter deals with more of the Chamber fallout, Rita's articles, and more fun for anyone who doesn't like Dumbledore.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Trouble Part 2**

**Moon: Hello everyone, and here's the next chapter of Trouble. Thank you to everyone who reviewed! Rita Skeeter and a very much in trouble Dumbledore can be found in this chappie! Enjoy, and I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 13: Things are Out of Hand**

Harry parked the car near the Leaky Cauldron and got out. The streets seemed a bit livelier than the last time he had seen them; news must get around fast among wizards.

He remembered the last time he was here, hiding Carrie, Pierce and Miranda – muggles – within magical walls. He supposed it only made sense that he was still breaking the rules the next time he approached the building – after all, he technically had a convict hidden in his car. It was still raining, but that didn't bother him; a single warming charm from Tracy had made him feel better last time – and, it seemed to be the only way to make his hair lie flat for once. It was an interview that he was going to, after all.

He gave Ginny a drink and instructions to stay inside the car. Maria rubbed her head against Ginny's hand when the redhead nodded reluctantly. Daphne, Astoria and Tracy all stepped out and followed Harry into the pub.

Now, Harry knew the potential downsides and pitfalls to going public. Fame was a fickle thing, and it was so easy for the public to turn on you, especially if you already had a record.

So he had thought about what he was going to say to Skeeter very carefully on the way down. He'd known from the start that breaking Ginny Weasley out of prison was a risky gamble, and it would pit him against Lucius Malfoy, who was a member of the Wizamgot and a highly respected aristocrat.

While Harry was famous, he was also a troublemaker and had been accused of hurting the other students. The current minister catered to Malfoy extensively, and there were a lot of people in that man's pocket. It put Harry at a disadvantage if Malfoy should decide to accuse him of something.

The only way his words would have weight against Malfoy's was if he went public – loud and fast. So that's what he was doing.

If there was one thing that the public ate up, it was images...if he said his words correctly, they would eat up that image and he could continue to keep his advantage in the strange world he was in.

Besides, he didn't have to tell them everything...just everything he felt they needed to know.

At any rate, women ate up the 'troubled but cute' image. He knew this for a fact; there were a couple girls a block away who would let him get away with murder because of it.

Harry just thought about the letter he was going to send Carrie and the others as they weaved their way through the animatedly chatting patrons, looking for Rita. The lights were overly bright, just like last time, though it could be because it was getting late. There was all kinds of talk of what was going on inside Hogwarts; people were discussing it over beer. He heard at least one father declare that he was having his twins transferred elsewhere. It didn't surprise him, though he missed the kid's names. He spotted Ginny's classmate Meghan Rushman sitting next to her father, who was talking rapidly; perhaps she was being pulled too.

"There she is," Tracy pulled Harry out of his thoughts, pointing to a nearby table. Sure enough, Rita Skeeter was sitting with a mug of butterbeer and her trademark quill, exactly on time just like them. She was wearing a ridiculous amount of glitter, but Harry didn't care about her appearance. He cared about her ability to write a story.

"Be careful what you tell her," Astoria said warningly, "I heard about Rita from my parents; when she hears a story she likes to alter things with her quill when she deems them a more 'interesting' translation of what you're saying. She's ruined a dozen careers by doing so, and she's not very fond of Dumbledore."

"Neither am I, right now." Harry responded. "And I think my soap opera of a life will give her exactly what she wants, alterations or no. Besides, this stuff was going to get out, one way or another. Better for it to come straight from my own mouth than from someone less worried about what might happen to us."

Daphne nodded reluctantly and the four of them made their way over to Rita's table.

Rita beamed at them and offered them butterbeer. Harry accepted it and eased into his chair opposite to her. "Well, I must say, it's a pleasure to finally meet the boy-who-lived," she said cheerfully, "You've been the toast of our world ever since you were one year old."

"So I've heard," Harry responded. "Wish my aunt and uncle had the same high opinion of me. It was weird seeing strangely dressed people bowing to me in the stores and stuff. And after what happened at school I've been wondering if I should be moving somewhere more safe."

"Moving?" Rita asked in feigned shock. "Away from Britain?"

Harry offered her an indecisive shrug. "It hasn't been the safest environment."

"Certainly the last few months have been alarming ones. Have you heard? The Heir of Slytherin escaped custody just before she was taken to Azkaban. The aurors were attacked by a _muggle _gang, of all things." Rita leaned forward a bit. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"

Harry met her gaze evenly, smirked a bit and said, "Not a clue, miss. But really; do you honestly believe that an eleven-year-old girl from a family who was staunchly against Voldemort during the last war is the Heir of Slytherin?" His grin widened slightly when he saw Rita wince at the name.

"You think little miss Ginny Weasley was framed?" Rita asked curiously.

"Do I think?" Harry rolled his eyes. "I was there; I saw the actual Heir, I fought his monster. Ginny was out cold, barely clinging to life, the entire time. I touched her – she was solid, not an illusion. So unless there's two of her, I don't see how she could have done it."

"Then who is the actual Heir, Harry Potter?" Rita asked, leaning in. "Perhaps you, hero of the Chamber incident, can tell the world what really happened?"

"That's what we're here for," Harry nodded to indicate Daphne, Astoria and Tracy. "To tell you what our Headmaster and some of the Board of Governors are overlooking."

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_You-Know-Who, Living Memory, Heir of Slytherin! Harry Potter, Abused Hero!_

_By Rita Skeeker_

_As most of you are undoubtedly aware, for the last four months our children had been ruthlessly attacked within the walls of Hogwarts itself by an unseen enemy. The building, having been repeatedly declared unassailable by both its headmaster and the teachers, had been playing host to an one thousand year old beast that had gotten loose from it's hiding place – the fabled Chamber of Secrets, a place that was thought to only exist in folklore and hearsay. _

_After four months and ten children put in the hospital, two students, Ginny Weasley and Daphne Greengrass were kidnapped by the creature and taken to the Chamber. They were given up for dead by the teachers, who gave up after Defence Against the Dark Arts Teacher Gildroy Lockhart fled the castle rather than face the monster to save the two girls. _

_Now, I'm sure many of my readers are crying foul at this. A school full of competent, magically skilled teachers including one Albus Dumbledore, defeater of Gellert Grindelwald, and none of them were willing to face the creature for the sake of two innocent children? _

_This has dark implications cast upon the staff, since it was only when two pureblood girls were attacked that they took action to have the school evacuated. This is heedless to the fact that ten muggleborn and half-blood children had already been turned to stone over the course of four months, and this didn't garner so much as a change of schedule within the building. _

_The teachers were simply continuing their days as though nothing out of the ordinary was occurring, instead of evacuating as soon as the first victim turned up._

_It seemed that Ginny and Daphne were condemned to die in the cold, dark chamber, completely at the mercy of the monster. But, as it turns out, all hope was not lost. Luckily for the children, their devoted friends and family Harry Potter, Tracy Davis and Astoria Greengrass went beyond the call of duty; they braved the possible danger to locate the chamber, go in and rescue them. _

_These three children, cut off from all forms of adult support and no one willing to help them, did something that many adult wizards have died in the attempt – they fought and successfully slew the monstrous Basilisk, Salazar Slytherin's first familiar, which had been preying on their fellow students. _

_How these children, who have suffered from lacklustre Defence teachers for two years, have managed to do this is staggering and a testament to how powerful and intelligent they all are. Surely they will be a force to be reckoned with when they come of age, particularly Harry Potter. Already known for his defeat of Voldemort at 1 year old, Potter managed to draw the Sword of Gryffindor, which had not been seen within the castle for the last five centuries, and used it to slay Tom Riddle's monster._

_Now wait, many of you must be saying. Wasn't Ginny Weasley the Heir of Slytherin? After all, Board of Governor Lucius Malfoy declared that she was hiding under the identity of an old student and behind a disillusionment charm while she was carrying out the attacks. _

_However, the other witnesses in the chamber have boldly claimed that this was a falsehood, and that Ginny was a victim of the attack, not the perpetrator. "**Ginny was as frightened by the attacks as the rest of us were,**" her dorm mate, Astoria Greengrass, stated. **"The real controller was the diary that she'd been slipped before she came to school." **she then placed a destroyed diary on the desk before me. Although it was ruined, I didn't need an Unspeakable degree to tell that it was reeking of dark magic._

_Harry went on to explain that the diary itself had been holding a living memory of Voldemort back in his school days, when he was known as Tom Riddle. _

_But further discussion of this topic has lead to another shocking discovery; Harry Potter, Hogwart's Golden student may not be so golden after all – not with the life he lead before he came to Hogwarts. _

_Today I, intrepid reporter Rita Skeeter, had a long and fulfilling chat with Harry Potter about both the vindictive attacks on our youth and his own troubled history. _

_**R: Did you, at any point, question the logic of going after an ancient monster with only your friends for backup?**_

_H: It did – right when its fang dug into my arm and poisoned me. (A, T and D laugh) But honestly, I spent the last four months watching them do nothing. I wasn't sure they'd help even if they knew what the monster was or where my friends were._

_**R: Basilisk poison! That's lethal had has few known cures. How did you survive?**_

_H: The Headmaster's familiar is a phoenix; it entered the chamber right when I passed out. Phoenix tears can heal anything._

_**R: Were you friends with Ginny Weasley?**_

_H: I confess I only knew her casually, but she was a shy girl, and very nice. She showed me how to get to the platform before my first year. Outside of a few encounters with her older, twin brothers, I'm not well acquainted with her family, but they sound like a very friendly, loving group._

_**R: Harry, how did you know where to find the Chamber? **_

_H: I had been in the library for several days before Daphne and Ginny were abducted. I was researching both what could have caused the Petifications and my own family history. During Duelling Club, Draco Malfoy had conjured a snake that menaced some of the viewers. Without thinking, I spoke to it – and it understood me. You can imagine I found that confusing – I had to find out from a book that I was a Parselmouth. _

_**R: A Parselmouth? That's a rare gift, the most notable person who used it was Salazar Slytherin.**_

_H: Yeah. I had a whole bunch of people accusing me of being the next Dark Lord after they heard me use it on those very grounds. They seemed to think _I _was the Heir. It was another part of the reason I was in the library – I wanted to get away from it._

_**R: You had to look up your family history? Didn't your aunt and uncle tell you all about your parents? **_

_H: (incredulous laugh) Vernon and Petunia? Are you kidding me? Petunia despised my mother and anything that had to do with magic. They pretending that there was no magical world, and that magic didn't exist. I spent ten years believing my mother and father were drunken, irresponsible layabouts who died in a car crash and dumped me on their hardworking relatives. _

_**R: (shocked) Lily and James Potter, irresponsible drunks? The two noble witch and wizard who sacrificed their lives to save the world and their son? That's a travesty of justice! Why on earth would they tell you such a falsehood? Didn't they at least tell you about You-Know-Who? **_

_H: I don't know, and no. They didn't. I'm not sure they even understand exactly who You-Know-Who is, because why would they concern themselves with the problems of a freak?_

_**R: Why are they even taking care of you, then?**_

_H: No idea. Maybe someone's paying them, maybe they wanted free labour, it's lost on me. They hate magic, they wouldn't have told me about the madman after me if their own lives depended on it. Even just mentioning magic would get me thrown in a cupboard and denied food for long periods of time. Sometimes over a day, if I really made them mad, though that was usually reserved for any occurrences of accidental magic. _

_**R: A cupboard! They didn't give you your own room? **_

_H: No. My cousin Dudley is such an overstuffed whale he needed two rooms, you see. There was another empty room, but it was reserved for guests. So I stayed in the cupboard. I just got dumped on their doorstep, so that's how they treated me – like garbage. It wasn't until I got in trouble with the law that they decided to move me into the spare room – and that was because Vernon was afraid the police would figure out how they treated me. _

_**R: You've been living in an abusive household this entire time? **_

_H: My childhood nickname was 'Freak'. That's all they called me; I didn't know what my real name was until I went to school. Dudley and his gang had something they liked to do called 'Harry Hunting'. They would chase me everywhere and if they caught me, they would beat me up until I could barely stand. I did all the chores, I weeded the garden since the time I was four, I cleaned the house, I washed the dishes. I cooked all the meals, and if I burnt anything I ate the burnt parts while they enjoyed the good food. It was so bad, you know what I did? _

_**R: What?**_

_H: I shoved Dudley off the roof so I would get arrested, because anywhere was better then that house. I spent a good part of my childhood in Juvenile Hall, because even a youth criminal correctional facility was a better home then number 4, Privet Drive. At least in that place, I didn't have to steal my food._

_**R: This – this – this is a nightmare. An outrage. A subversion of justice. An insult to the memory of Lily and James Potter! Their child, treated this way! Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived, forced into criminal behaviour because Albus Dumbledore deemed it a good idea to send him to magic-hating muggles!**_

_A: Wait, Dumbledore put him there? I don't understand. He's not related to Harry, is he?_

_**R: The Headmaster of Hogwarts always claimed to have your best interests in mind; he somehow claimed magical guardianship of you after Sirius Black's incarceration.**_

_A: Isn't that considered attempted meddling and subverting of an Heir?_

_**R: It could be, but he never divulged any information about Harry's situation, and he's been held in highest esteem for years now. Tell me more about the Chamber, however. **_

_H: Well, I saw the last message after my friends disappeared. The teachers told Lockhart to go find them. I mean, really? That guy? I had him as a DADA teacher for a year and a half and I've never seen him cast a single powerful spell. During Duelling club, Professor Snape knocked him over with one Expelliarmus. Where they honestly expecting _him _to save them? A werewolf would have made a better rescuer. _

_**R: We heard he fled the castle soon after being told to search the Chamber.**_

_H: (snorts) Why doesn't that surprise me? Anyway, myself, Astoria and Tracy all ran down to the girl's bathroom, where the entrance was. I opened it with Parseltongue, and we jumped into the Chamber. From there, we walked for a little before finding Ginny and Daphne. _

_**R: So what exactly did the diary do?**_

_A: I'm not clear on the details, but somehow it allowed Riddle's memory to possess Ginny and force her to open the Chamber. He went through her memories to get his targets; they were all students who had interacted with her at some point. At the end he meant to simply take her to the Chamber and drain her of her lifeforce. Daphne was looking for her and saw him materialize, so he took her too. _

_**R: So You-Know-Who is the Heir of Slytherin? **_

_T: So it would seem. Now, if someone would kindly lift the accusations of Ginny Weasley, I'm sure she'll turn up again._

_**R: You're sure you don't know how she vanished?**_

_H: (smirks) not a clue._

_**And that concluded our interview, which leaves a lot of questions to ask. Why did Dumbledore leave Harry with muggles who abused him? And why would Lucius Malfoy, supposedly an upstanding citizen, accuse Ginny Weasley of being the Heir of Slytherin when he had formerly worked with the man, albeit supposedly under Imperious? **_

_**Why is Harry Potter being forced to live like a criminal after what he did for the magical world? **_

_**Exactly how much did Dumbledore know about the Chamber? After all, the phoenix appeared to heal Harry's injuries – after he defeated the basilisk. Familiars usually can't go places that their masters aren't aware of. If he knew about the monster, why would he abandon two girls to it and leave their rescue on the shoulders of three students? **_

_**Are any of our children safe at Hogwarts? The year before this six of them were attacked by a starving Cerberus, and then this. Is there a conspiracy to destroy the school and anyone who attends it afoot?**_

_**And how much about Harry's situation and You-Know-Who's history does Albus Dumbledore know about? Remember, this living memory had been attacking students right under his nose. One thing's for sure, you can count on this reporter to keep digging until she has the truth. **_

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Petunia Dursley was making lunch for herself and her husband when she looked out the window and gasped. Dozens upon dozens of owls were all flying towards their house.

Vernon looked out the window and let out an angry roar, "Why the bloody hell are they coming here now? The brat is at school now! Unless he's managed to get himself expelled – the little troublemaker, it would surprise me at all – but he should just stay with the other freaks rather than tainting our reputation!"

Dudley stared up from his plate, fork stuck halfway to his mouth.

The owls all flew to the rooftop, and suddenly numerous red envelops cascaded down their chimney and into their kitchen, fluttering around the room like small birds. There had to be at least several dozen of them.

One of them opened.

Petunia and Vernon had to throw their hands over their ears as Molly Weasley's voice, amplified a hundred times, echoed through their house with the force of an explosion.

"YOU SELFISH COW! HOW DARE YOU TREAT HARRY POTTER THAT WAY! HOW DARE YOU MAKE UP SUCH DEMEANING LIES ABOUT HIS PARENTS! I OUGHT TO MARCH OVER THERE AND TRANSFIGURE YOU AND YOUR LARD TUB OF A HUSBAND INTO PIGS, JUST LIKE YOU ARE INSIDE! THAT CHILD WAS DEPENDING ON YOUR CARE AND YOU TREATED HIM LIKE GARBAGE! YOU CALL YOURSELF A MOTHER?"

Then another went off, then another, and another, and the Dusley house began a cacophony of noise and screaming voices, the victims of which were all lying on the floor with their hands clamped over their ears. The noise could be heard for blocks. Such an assault of howlers hadn't been seen in one place ever before. Neighbours looked over at the house, not daring to get close but wondering what on earth was going on.

The racket would continue for several hours until finally some Aurors came to the family's rescue, Obliviating the neighbours and putting up a mail redirection ward to keep out any more Howlers.

The family had been rendered deaf by the assault, and would have to be fixed by magic. Dudley was shaking like mad, having seen his father soundly defeated by a bunch of envelops. No one had ever screamed at him like that.

Unfortunately, they didn't count on one young Auror getting so irate at the sight of the overweight abusers that she decided to follow up on Molly Weasley's threat and transfigured the elder Dursleys into pigs.

The Aurors were so focused on the task at hand that they didn't notice the three teenaged delinquents standing at the corner, laughing themselves sick.

Carrie halted the recording on her camera and turned to Pierce and Miranda, still laughing and said, "I _so _wish I could put that on the internet! Take that, you fat whale, stuck-up shrew and your useless spoiled spawn!"

Miranda, in stitches from laughter, could only bobble her head in agreement. Pierce then suggested, "We should totally put that on over the speakers at his school when he gets back to it."

Carrie's eyes lit up with maniac amusement. "I like that idea."

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The Auror who had done the transfiguration got nothing more than a stern reprimand from the squad leader, who looked like he was trying to hold in some very unprofessional laughter. The three muggles were temporarily moved to St. Mugo's for care, after which they would have their memories of the hospital removed.

A few aurors discreetly high-fived the female auror when they were certain the higher-ups weren't looking.

It was obvious where the people's sympathies were lying.

**Time Skip – Two days later**

At Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore was under a similar assault, but he was not getting Howlers, although plenty of those had been pouring in. No, he was taking it from all the people who had opted to come in person to express their displeasure.

"You _knew _the Chamber had been opened!" Daniel Greengrass roared at Dumbledore, his face the very picture of fury. "You were going to _abandon _my daughter down there? Couldn't you have even attempted to look for the Chamber's entrance? You sent your _least competent staff member _to search for her and her housemate! That monster could have killed her and my youngest child! What the bloody hell were you thinking?!"

"This is the final straw!" Angela Greengrass howled, her hands shaking with anger. "Unless you step down from your post as Headmaster I'm withdrawing Daphne and Astoria from this establishment, and I _will _be pressing charges! How dare you!"

"Ginny is a good girl!" Molly Weasley screamed when Daniel and Angela stopped for breath. "She never would have opened the Chamber, and you threw her to the wolves? To Lucius Malfoy, and into prison? How could you! Now I don't even know where she is! And you didn't even tell me that my boy Ronald had been petrified since Christmas! I will never trust you again, Albus Dumbledore, if I had the money I would transfer my children out of this school this instant! You can consider this the end of any support you might have gotten from my family!"

"Headmaster, I am demanding answers! My son was petrified for an entire month and not a word from the staff!" Sohpia Diggory threw her two cents in. She was a slender woman from whom Cedric had gotten a lot of his good looks, but right now her face was red with righteous outrage.

"I was told this was the safest place in Britain!" Michael Thomas cried. "But you were keeping a monster in your basement! And a couple of kids had to fight it! How much did you _know _about that thing?"

"My daughter and Heir could have been killed!" Shrieked Sakura Davis, expressive brown eyes alive with rage. While she spoke she was shouldering her way through the crowd with intent on at least punching the old man, though she was deterred by a hastily cast Protego. "You left her to fight a monster that kills most _adult_ wizards who challenge its kind instead of going down yourself! How dare you?!"

"Is it true that you only began an evacuation after two pureblood girls were attacked?" Demanded Marcus Abbot, waving a copy of that day's Prophet over his head. "What about the other children? Did you even try to protect them?"

"Did you not take the precautions to take care of our children?!" Michelle Pritchard demanded, clutching her daughter's hand tightly. "Did you honestly let the imprisonment of Ginerva Weasley stand without even an enquiry?"

Serena Pritchard was standing next to her mother in the office, watching the scene before her in a mixture of terror and awe. She'd been the last student to be de-petrified at the end of March; she'd been lucky enough to have only been frozen for a week. Her mother had waiting for her to wake up. Unsurprisingly, her father had been absent.

Serena had heard all the news and reaffirmed her belief that Ginny was not the Heir of Slytherin, citing their friendship as the reason for it. She was both amused and appalled by the content of Harry Potter's interview with Rita Skeeter; had the woman made that up or was it all true?

After her mother had finished expressing her relief that Serena was alive, she had marched herself and her daughter straight upstairs, not prepared to leave until she got a straight explanation from the Headmaster.

They had walked into an office that was all but crammed to standing room with other furious parents, all demanding the answer to the same question. Serena was barely able to fit in past the door and their voices were nearly drowned out by all the shouting. Her ears were ringing from the noise. She had never seen anything like this except for recollections of the Death Eater trails that she had heard from her father.

Fawkes was flying overhead in distress, despite not being the target of ire. The phoenix was feeling the negative aura of the room and it was starting to drive the gentle bird into distress.

Dumbledore had put up a Shield charm around himself, and was watching the crowd in front of him as though he couldn't believe this was happening. He couldn't. He had always been respected and admired by parents; he had never seen their outrage directed towards _him_. He understood that not everyone understood the necessity of the Greater Good, but this was something else entirely.

How had things gone so wrong? What was supposed to be a simple test of strength and character for Harry had turned into a debacle he was rapidly loosing control over. All the boy was supposed to do was solve the puzzle, realize what was causing the attacks and confront the one responsible.

He had known about the basilisk after the first attack, but had refrained from commenting because he needed to see if his hunch was correct or not. He had to make sure Harry was still going down the correct path, after his troubled childhood. More drastic measures would have had to have been taken if the boy had simply sat idle while his classmates were being attacked by some unseen enemy; Dumbledore would have had to pull him out of his apathy and install some heroic tenancies in him.

Well, as it turned out despite his undesirable qualities Harry was willing to risk life and limb for other people, which had Dumbledore sighing in relief. The boy had almost gotten himself killed, but Fawkes had dealt with that. He had meant to be there when Harry had awaken, answer all his unasked questions and get him and his friends on board with the Greater Good. The girls might have required a little persuasion, but surely dimming their memories of the event to his favour would erase any hesitance.

Unfortunately, some muggleshad had the _audacity_ to _intervene_ on Ginny's escort to the minister, allowing the girl to escape with knowledge that could potentially lead to the Horcruxes being discovered before the time was right. The publicity that had gathered only had fuel added to the fire when Davis had gone to her mother before he could Obliviate her memory of the Chamber. Then this Prophet had come out and it was going steadily downhill from there.

He had had but a mere suspicion that Riddle's diary was a Horcrux, and he had wanted Harry to confirm it with the way he destroyed it. The only good thing he could see coming out of this mess was that he now knew for sure that Voldemort had created Horcruxes.

Harry Potter – he knew he should have stunned those children and dragged them back to their dorms. He went to the Prophet? To Rita Skeeter? This was a public relations nightmare worse then the last time the Chamber opened!

Forget stunners, the minute that boy returned to school for third year Dumbledore was rewriting his memories. He couldn't afford to have the boy-who-lived behaving this way. When he was finished modifying the boy's mind, he wouldn't hear a word against his beloved Headmaster. But first he had to make sure he still _was _Headmaster by the time the lad's third year had rolled around.

"I assure you all," He addressed the crowd of parents, "The safety of the children has always been my number one concern..."

"But you didn't even search the castle after Colin was Petrified," The pureblood girl Serena Pritchard chimed in from the back. Damn those girls for inciting Slytherin tendencies in Ginny! If she had just remained the meek like Harry Potter worshipper, he wouldn't be in this position! "You didn't even change the schedule. Are we supposed to believe that?"

"You didn't act when your familiar went into the Chamber! You must have known where Harry and his friends were!" Molly shouted.

"Fawkes is a phoenix," Dumbledore said placating, "He often knows things that I don't. I realize that I should have evacuated sooner-"

"Sooner? No kidding! What exactly were you waiting for?" Michael Thomas demanded. "And correct me if I'm wrong, but several half-bloods and muggleborns were attacked but you only acted after Weasley and Greengrass were attacked – is this a way of saying that you're primary concern is the betterment of purebloods, not the rest of us?"

This caused a lot of shouting and protests from the other parents, some agreeing while others denying they had received any special treatment.

"I am not a supporter of pureblood dogma," Dumbledore said firmly. It was true, after all. He knew that muggleborns and half-bloods were essential to strengthening the weakening pureblood lines. However, this required keeping as many of the scions of those pureblood lines alive, no matter how they behaved. He figured with a little rehabilitation even Bellatrix Lestrange could be an upstanding member of society. His spy didn't share the sentiment, but he worked with Dumbledore because it was the only way, so he didn't do anything about it. And he was the one Dumbledore gave all the critical information to. "Ron Weasley and Padma Patil were both attacked before Ginny and Daphne were taken to the chamber. I was certainly not stalling in hopes of damage being done to those that Voldemort's kind considered 'lesser bloods'."

This, for some reason, did little to mollify his audience. Some had started shouting again; Serena Pritchard and her mother were staring at him as though they couldn't believe he had just said that.

Daniel threw off a canon-like blast with his wand. The crowd quieted and turned their attention to him. He looked about, picking out his fellow governers in the crowd before nodding sharply at them. A piece of paper was rapidly conjured and passed around the room, with many parents writing on it.

"I understand this has been a difficult time for many of you, but the children have come to no permanent harm. I merely wish to continue things as they are, since the beast is slain and everything has turned out for the best." Dumbledore said. "Send them back to Hogwarts next year and I promise that I will have a replacement Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher who will make up for the last two...what is this?"

Angela gave Dumbledore a look of utter contempt and slapped the paper down on his desk. "That, Headmaster Dumbledore, is what we call a 'no confidence' vote." She declared coldly. "The teaching staff is to be looked over and a new Headmaster selected."

Dumbledore whitened at this. Him, loose a post at school? That could have devastating implications for his reputation, since many Heirs went to Hogwarts and he was tasked with their safety. If the elite of society didn't trust him with their children, that would send a message that he was not to be trusted at all.

He was about to roar at the insolent woman and cast a mass obliviate when the door suddenly swung open. Serena Pritchard squeaked and said, "make some room! The head of the DMLE is here!"

Dumbledore went even whiter as Amelia Bones politely edged her way through the crowd and towards the desk. The room grew quiet again.

When she reached him, she regarded him coldly; her niece Susan had had a friend named Hannah who was one of the victims. "Albus Dumbledore, this is a requirement from the Ministry. The school is to be shut down and investigated. You are required to appear before the Wizamgot for an enquiry this Thursday."

A cheer went up from the audience and Dumbledore went from white to green.

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In little Whining later that evening, Harry was reading the evening edition of the Prophet on the Dursley's lawn. He'd received an owl about Hogwarts being closed a few months early and headed straight home after his friends were picked up by their house elves.

This time, his aunt and uncle hadn't even let him inside the house; they had just taken one fearful look at him and slammed the door in his face.

Now safely away from the wizarding world, Ginny Weasley had emerged from under the cloak and was petting Maria, listening to Harry read aloud. Most of the people were crying for the ruling of her being put in the Ministry holding cell to be repealled, but until it was said officially she was going to stay with Harry. From the moment they had entered the muggle neighbourhood, Ginny had pestered Harry with questions over just about everything she saw, from gardening tools to television sets to cameras that captured non-moving pictures.

She had met Carrie, Miranda and Pierce when they came to see Harry return. She had, at first, been embarrassed and curious, having never met any muggles before.

They won her over quickly and now the five of them were laughing crazily over the recorded footage of the Dursley house being attacked by Howlers.

"I can't believe that really happened!" Harry laughed, watching the shaky recording. Carrie had apologized for that, saying that she'd been laughing too hard to hold it steady. Not surprising at all. "Damn, no wonder Vernon had looked like he was going to pass out when he saw me on the front steps! I thought they would have Obliviated their memory of that!"

"I get this feeling that they wanted to make a point." Miranda said, pointing at the Aurors who had just turned the corner. "You seem to mean a lot to some of these people."

"About that, I still don't really understand that," Harry said. "Okay, maybe I blew up their master when I was in my cradle, but he was only one guy, and I had absolutely nothing to do with the rest of the war."

"I think I could hear mum," Ginny said, listening carefully to the words being said. After a second she smiled. "Yes, she's definitely there. Mum's Howlers are legendary; I've seen her preparing ones to send to the twins or Ron and I wouldn't like to see what it's like to be on the wrong end of one, much less..." Her eyebrows scrunched a bit as she tried to count the ones floating outside the windows. "...twenty five?"

"There's probably more inside the house itself," Pierce chuckled. "It was the loudest thing I had ever heard."

"This is like the last ten Christmas and my birthday all rolled into one!" Harry laughed as he watched the female Auror transfigure Petunia and Vernon into pigs, her hair turning from pink to bright red as she did so. "Whoa! Never seen that before."

"We thought it was a wizard thing." Miranda said, pointing as the auror's hair changed back to pink. "See?" Everyone glanced at Ginny, who ducked her head and smiled sheepishly under the scrutiny.

"She's a metamorph." The small redhead explained.

"A what now?" Pierce asked.

"It means she can take on any shape that she likes." Ginny explained. "Expressing her emotions can result in changes in hair or eye colour. I've never met one before."

Harry closed Carrie's camera, giggling madly, "I've gotta find that girl's name and thank her for that," He said. "That would be the best makeover anyone ever gave uncle Vernon." The kids snickered.

Carrie looked over the newspaper, scanning the columns. "Harry, I'm not sure I like some of this." She said, pointing at some of the later articles. "You said in your letters that it's like they're expecting you to do something. And is says here that one of the reasons Headmaster Dumbledore has been suspended on a no-confidence vote is that he knew you were in the Chamber fighting the monster but didn't do anything?"

"Was that confirmed?" Harry asked, leaning over the page.

"It seems to be popular consensus, though he never used so many words. The Department of Magical Law Enforcement seems to be looking into the Chamber of Secrets incident more thoroughly." Carrie responded, leaning over the page. "Hey Ginny, good news it seems – you're officially no longer the Heir of Slytheirn."

Ginny cheered at this, smiling happily. "That's nice to hear. I have to go back to the Burrow today then," She said. "I missed my mum and dad."

Harry grinned. "Well Ginny, here's something for your father. I hear he's interested in muggle works." He gave her a small box filled with a phone, a pez dispenser, a snow globe and a couple other muggle nick-nacks. "Tell him I'm sorry about his car trouble."

Ginny smiled radiantly at Harry. "You know Harry," She said. "I grew up hearing all kinds of stories about you. There are dolls and storybooks all keyed to you. I kept imagining what you'd be like when I finally met you...and you're different from the stories."

"I am?"

"Yes. But honestly...I think the real you is better. Not perfect. But better." The redhead finished, looking a little embarrassed but managing to hold his gaze.

"Aw," Pierce cooed, causing both Harry and Ginny to blush fiercely and scramble to their feet, looking up at the older boy with identical mortified expressions.

"Whoa!" Miranda yelled, drawing everyone's attention to her. "Guys! Guys, did you miss this? It's kind of important!"

"What? What?" Harry demanded, staring at her.

Miranda jabbed a slender finger at the bottom of the column. "_There_, right _there_, in itty-bitty writing at the end of that DMLE article – Harry Potter's magical guardianship still belongs to Dumbledore, but if he looses it, it will go back to mass-murderer Sirius Black!"

"MASS MURDERER?"

**End Chapter**

**Aaaaaand that ended on an awkward note. Sorry, I wanted to introduce Sirius Black into the story differently than usual. At any rate, I'm not entirely happy with this chapter - I feel it should be longer - but I find I can't really expand it without boring, useless rambling on my behalf. Next chapter deals with Harry going to Gringotts and finding out something interesting - House Restoration.**

**Read and Review please!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Trouble**

**Moon: (sigh) Okay, transitional chapter, therefore it's short and very frustrating. The story has loosely followed Canon up until this point - no longer. Things are about to get messy, for more reasons than one. I say it's short because it deals with a lot of elements that have been dealt with multiple times before. I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 14: House Resurrection**

Harry was at Gringotts.

It had been a year since he was last here, with Hagrid. He hadn't really had any desire to get entangled in the world of money-handling and he didn't trust himself not to do something stupid in a place where thieves were decidedly less well received than the usual society

But the revelation of the reason Sirius Black was in prison had sent him here on business. He remembered the man from the images of his parent's wedding, a smiling, laughing man. James's closest friend. He betrayed them? Murdered thirteen people? Harry's mind was spinning; he wasn't sure if he could trust anything he was hearing.

People that close...people that close didn't just betray each other. It's like that person is an extension of your soul; you can no more betray them in such a way than you can cut off your own hand and cast it away without agony.

He knew this, because that's how he felt about Carrie, Miranda and Pierce, and about his magical friends.

It scared him, how much he cared for them, what he was willing to do for them, what he knew he was willing to do. He was so used to disappointment, to the dark cupboard, to being lost and lonely.

He was reckless because he had nothing to loose. And now he did, and that, more than the idea that the man who killed his parents was still out there, more than the thought that the Headmaster wanted to use him, chilled him down to his very bones. The thought that he could loose any one of them.

So he was going to try and fight, to find some way of emancipating himself so he could be free of this potential danger. Even if Sirius was inside Azkaban, he didn't want him having magical guardianship over him; for no jail was infallible.

Now he just had to hope that there was a way to pull this off. Harry raked his fingers through his long black hair, resisting the urge to groan.

It really said something about the wizarding world, he thought ruefully, that a twelve-year-old boy had to do his own banking.

He wasn't sure what to expect when he got into his vaults – he had a vague idea of what was inside them, but nothing else. It wasn't as though he was going to go in and discover he was King Arthur's Heir or some such nonsense and all his problems would be magically solved. But hopefully his birth family would have left behind something that could help him out.

As he walked through the huge doors into the building, Harry desperately wished Carrie or Pierce could have come in with him – Miranda should steer clear of this establishment for her own safety – because having sharp-toothed creatures his own height watching him menacingly every step he took got off-putting very fast.

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"Thank you for coming, last scion of the Potter and Black house." Griphook said.

"Thank you, sir." Harry blinked. "I'm sorry? Did you just say the Potter _and _Black house?"

"Yes," Griphook said. "Your godfather Sirius Black had come to Gringotts soon after you were born to confirm his guardianship. He told us, with James and Lily by his side, that if anything happened to him he would take you in as his own son, and his house will be your protection."

"I heard that Sirius Black is my godfather," Harry said cautiously, "But I also heard that he was a mass-murderer."

Griphook looked disapproving, but nodded. "However, these wills were written ironclad before he was accused, because he didn't want Narcissa Black financing the Dark Lord with it. So it's yours now."

Harry Potter-Black thought about this for a moment and asked, "Can I see my parent's will? I want to understand exactly what's left for me."

"Absolutely." Griphook disappeared into a back room and then returned with a long scroll. He handed it to Harry, who opened it up and looked down at it.

_This is the last will and testament of James Potter and Lily Evans-Potter_

_To Sirius Black, we leave custody of our only son and 1 knunt, as we agreed. _

_To Peter Pettigrew, our real secret-keeper, we leave 1000 galleons. Good luck healing your mother. _

_To Alice and Frank Longbottom, we leave you a vacation home in the Bahamas. Thank you for all the years of your friendship and take care of Neville. _

_To Remus Lupin, we leave you vault 15, and if Sirius cannot take care of Harry we would like you to. Despite your 'furry little problem' you're one of the kindest, most genuine people we've ever met. Take care of yourself. _

_To Severus Snape, we leave the east Library. Sni-Severus, I was a git to you when we were younger, and that's my old shame. I'm sorry about that. Please watch over our son when he goes to get his education._

_To our son Harry, we leave the rest of our estate, including all money, properties and titles. We love you dearly Harry and we're sorry if we didn't get to see you grow. _

_In case anything goes wrong, we're letting you know now that Peter was our secret keeper, not Sirius. Your father thought it would be an excellent prank. Also, if we die, you ARE NOT to go to my sister Petunia Dursley and her husband. Okay? You'd be better off with Remus on a full moon then with those people. _

_Harry, we're sorry that you're having House Restoration dumped on you, but its something that activates when our houses are as diminished as ours. It may be off-putting, but I think that you'll find it's not so bad in the long run. I hope it won't bother you too much. _

_Now, I'm sure you're perfectly capable of choosing your own girls – we're certainly not infringing on that! – but here are some houses that are either light or neutral, which would be safer bets for you than others. Even without Voldemort, enemies lurk in shadows waiting for an opportunity to strike._

_House Bones_

_House Greengrass_

_House Davis_

_House Rushman_

_House Weasley_

_House Jones_

_House Moon_

_Harry, this is Sirius. Ow! Stupid voice-dictating quills! As your godfather, I am making you my Heir as well – don't let my _lovely _cousins get you down, okay? Be the best Maurader since your father's time. With any luck, I'll be there to see it happen._

_Good luck, your loving family_

_Lily and James Potter, witnessed by Sirius Black._

Harry stared at the parchment for a long second, before repeating, "House Restoration?", in a bewildered, nervous voice.

Griphook raised a solitary eyebrow. "You've never heard of it?" He said. "Strange. I would have expected someone who's the Heir of _two _Ancient Houses to have been made aware of this, especially two very old houses who are down to their last branches."

"I – I admit, I have no idea what it is," Harry responded cautiously. "Would you be so kind as to tell me about it?"

Griphook looked somewhat disbelieving, but launched into an explanation nonetheless. "House Restoration is something that occurs when an Ancient and Most Noble House is down to two Heirs or less. It's one of the oldest traditions in existence; if my memory serves me it was installed by the children of the Founders. When a House is down to two Heirs in all its branches, these Heirs are allowed to have more than one bride. It is encouraged that you marry young, and to have at least five ladies, actually."

Harry's jaw dropped open. "W-W-_Wives_?" He stammered at last, his twelve-year-old brain nearly breaking down as he attempted to process this. "_More than one wife_?"

Griphook nodded, giving a curious expression that was probably the closest thing a Goblin had to an amused smirk. "That is the essence of it, yes."

Harry leaned back in his chair, mind spinning. Five ladies...counting all his female friends, that still wasn't quite the quota. He could hardly comprehend having a girlfriend, much less one wife, much less _five_. Even as he accepted a list of properties to review, his brain was still stuck on that. And then he realized something.

He tapped a finger against the name Peter Pettigrew. "Sir, what's this? It says here that Pettigrew is the real secret-keeper. I don't understand, everyone's saying it's Sirius Black."

The Goblin scowled. "Have you ever heard of misdirection, Heir Potter? That was the intention of your parents when they switched secret keepers."

It took a second for the full implications of this statement to sink in, regarding both Pettigrew and Black. Pettigrew gave up his mother and father, and then fled when Sirius found him...taken to a busy street, where he needed to cause a commotion to get away...so he blows it up. The reasoning gave him a bolt of wild energy and Harry jumped to his feet. "Wait, that means Sirius was wrongly incarcerated!"

"Lower your voice," The goblin said. "And yes, he was. Black's innocence has been long known among the goblins, but wizards aren't going to take our opinion at face value and the physical evidence is against Black. Something I _will _tell you is that Pettigrew's vault is still active."

_That means he's still alive, _Harry thought, his mind racing. In all of the pictures, there had been something slightly off to Pettigrew, like he was deeply unhappy. Should have at least suspected...Harry shook his head, "Thank you sir."

"I'll need a little blood to confirm that you're an Heir to the Black estates now."

Harry went through the tests, grabbed his coat and then hurried back outside, his mind spinning. There was a lot for him to consider and work out.

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Harry was headed back to Privet Drive with the news and was completely flummoxed to see both Astoria and Ginny standing on the steps, waiting for him. He had figured that they had gone home at this point. Daphne was also conspicuous in her absence, but more likely than not her parents had insisted she go to St Mugos after her experience in the Chamber for a check-up. Both girls were looking homicidal, so whatever it was it wasn't good.

Harry skidded to a halt in front of them, looking between them. They looked quite pretty in muggle clothes, and the memory of house restoration passed in front of him. He rapidly banished the thought and said, "Ginny, Astoria, I thought you'd be at home. Well, alright – there is some stuff I've got to tell you-"

Astoria grabbed Harry's hand and squeezed it hard. "So do we. Lucius Malfoy's a Death Eater."

"WHAT?" Harry shouted, losing his train of thought at this statement.

Ginny nodded vehemently, making a noise like Maria when Dudley had trod on her tail. "He's the one who dropped the book in my cauldron," She explained angrily. "And since that thing contained Riddle's memories, we decided to do our homework. What do you know – Mr Malfoy worked for You-Know-Who in his time."

"That's why he holds his forearm whenever the man is mentioned," Astoria ground out. "I should have known; I've read about the first war against Voldemort and his name was mentioned sevearl times. To think I never made the connection!"

"Why isn't he in Azkaban, then?"

"Oh, that's easy – he just put on a big production of horror, cried some fake tears, claimed he was under the Imperious Curse and lined a few pockets." Astoria snapped her fingers. "And there! - He was out of jail without so much as a slap on the wrist."

"He's not the only one," Harry said darkly. When both Ginny and Astoria looked at him oddly and with some concern. "Come on, there's something I have to tell you."

He walked down the alleyway with the girls right behind him, headed for the park.

What he didn't realize was that Arebella Figg, his caretaker and spy for Dumbledore, had heard this entire conversation and opted to follow them. She'd heard the name Malfoy and knew that he was of importance to Dumbledore's plan. She grabbed an umbrella and chased after them, being careful that she wasn't spotted.

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"Sirius Black is innocent!" If Astoria had been angry before, it was nothing like now. Her green eyes were alive with righteous fury at this piece of information. "Innocent! This is madness; he wasn't even given a bloody trial before because, oh 'the evidence was against him'! Now he's spent twelve years suffering in Azkaban for something he didn't do! How is that justice!"

Harry nodded darkly. "I'm just wondering why Dumbledore didn't intervene and give him a trial. As Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederacy of Wizards it would have been easy for him to overrule Barty Crouch."

"You're not the only one," Ginny admitted. "After what happened to me in the Chamber my parents are starting to wonder if Dumbledore really has our best interests in mind. He never explains why he does anything to others, not really anyway."

Astoria gave an unladylike snort. "So he's got an information withholding complex. Fantastic."

there was a crack, and then Daphne appeared in front of the park bench they were sitting on. She thanked the house elf that had brought here here and hugged her sister. "Astoria! I was so worried, do you know that Malfoy's a death eater?"

"The Senior Malfoy? Yes, just figured it out this morning – there's more, Sirius Black is innocent."

"WHAT?" Daphne shrieked furiously. "How'd that happen?"

"This is what happens when people don't get trials." Harry said stiffly. "And in this case, when people's wills aren't read carefully. I went to Gringotts this morning and found out that my parents had the switch of secret-keepers written in their will. So unless it was never read, I don't see why my godfather is still in prison."

Ginny whitened, "Oh Merlin, that poor man." She had narrowly dodged a stay in Azkaban herself, and the mere thought of going there had filled her with terror.

Daphne clenched her fist and sat down next to her sister. "Convicted Death Eaters walk free while innocent men get tossed in prison. And not just any Death Eater, an extremely rich one, so he can finance You-Know-Who or the next dark lord should either of whom appear. Nice handling of _that_, Crouch," She said spitefully.

There was a period of silence as the children fumed over the injustice done. "Any word on what's happening to Dumbledore?" Harry asked eventually.

"He's been suspended as Headmaster," Daphne recalled. "Professor McGonagall will be taking his place,"

"That's nice," Harry muttered. "She's sensible, at least, and cares about the students. Has anything else happened?"

"There were charges that people wanted to bring forward, but he's the 'great Albus Dumbledore' so none of them stuck." Astoria spat. Her knuckles whitened as she thought of the man who had put her sister's life in danger was walking around free.

Harry bit into his bottom lip, scowling. While it was good that Dumbledore was no longer Headmaster – the creepy old guy couldn't stalk him anymore – but the idea that he wasn't in any other real trouble for nearly letting them die...

"What are we going to do?" Ginny asked softly. "We can't do nothing. But we're children, they're not going to take our word for it,"

"_I _think we should torch Malfoy Manor." Daphne said coldly, reaching out and taking Astoria's hand in hers. "And I don't care what I do, my baby sister is _not _going to marry a Death Eater's spawn."

"Amen to that," Harry said fervently. Astoria nodded in agreement. Harry felt a small smile cross his face. "You know, today Draco and Narcissa Malfoy are going to be out shopping."

Daphne frowned. "What does that have to do with anything?"

A beaten-up old pick-up truck drove to the corner and stopped. Carrie waved at them and hit the horn. Harry stood up.

"It means everything. Come on, there's something I'm going to show you – we're going on a little trip." He said. The girls glanced at each other in confusion but followed him nonetheless.

"Hey there Trouble," Carrie said with a grin as Harry and his friends got into the car. "I've got everything you asked for in the back. There's enough in there to completely blow out the supports of a sky scraper."

"Good." Harry smirked. He glanced back at his girls as the car took off. "Well, it's not traditional torching, but I was making sure the child and his mother wouldn't be in the house. I didn't feel comfortable blowing them up with it, you see."

Astoria and Daphne's eyes widened, but Ginny just grinned. They glanced over the back of the seat to see the sizable trunk filled with muggle explosives.

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"You know Trouble, you've been in trouble for arson before, but this is going to take the cake," Carrie remarked dryly as she attached the explosives to the wall.

"I have noble reasons for doing this!" Harry protested. "If he looses his huge fancy mansion and everything in it he'll loose a lot of money and clout. And if his finances fall below a certain line, the contract between Astoria and Draco will be terminated."

"And him being a Death Eater doesn't?" Carrie asked with a raised eyebrow.

"They don't know yet," Harry explained while he walked down the wall, putting up more of the dynamite. "But with any luck that will be the final nail on the coffin. I won't let him get his hands on my friend."

Carrie grinned, "You were hoping to get your hands on her?"

"Carrie!"

"I'm serious, though," Carrie responded. "You've got that weird law to repopulate your house, the requested minimum is five girls. You and Astoria seem to be quite close for twelve year olds; you could offer to marry her instead."

"I was going to ask for Daphne," Harry thought about that. "Would asking for both sisters be out of line?"

Carrie laughed out loud at this, "Kid, considering who you are and what you've done, I think he'd be all to happy to."

Harry flushed, while Daphne appeared from around the corner. It was Astoria's unwanted connection to Draco that allowed them to approach the mansion, that and the Malfoys seemed to arrogant to consider the possibility that a muggle might be able to do them harm. Amusingly enough, the house was carefully warded against magical attacks but completely vulnerable to demolition charges. Well, that's what you get for not doing your homework.

"It's all set up," Daphne said as Ginny and Astoria joined her, "At least I think it is, the instructions were a little confusing."

"I'm sure you did fine," Carrie chuckled. "You guys go back to the car, I'll check and then start the countdown."

The four students headed back to the truck, halfway there Daphne put a hand on Harry's shoulder. He paused and she kissed him; it was over quickly but it sent thrills down his spine and weakened his knees. "Thank you for this Harry."

"Anytime," Harry responded, dazed. Daphne smiled brightly before catching up with the other two girls.

Harry stood rooted to the spot until Carrie put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey! You don't want to be standing here in a minute!"

Harry snapped out of it and nodded. "Right. Of course." He hurried to the truck a good distance away and sat on the roof in front of the windshield, the girls already there in a line. Carrie handed everyone earmuffs and they counted down on their fingers.

The explosion sent shockwaves as far as their car, and it just kept going. Fire exploded out of every corner as the building was blown to bits, collapsing inward as it fell. Carrie high-fived the students as they piled back into the car, backed up and shot down the driveway, laughing and cheering the entire way.

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Daniel Greengrass was sitting at his desk with some Hogwarts papers when his two daughters burst inside. He looked up in alarm, "What's wrong?"

Daphne brandished a copy of the Daily Prophet over her head. "Haven't you heard? Malfoy Manor has been destroyed!"

"What?" He took the paper from them and read it with wide eyes, he didn't catch the quick smirks his children sent each other.

**End Chapter**

**Harry wanted to do that himself, and I always wanted an excuse to blow up Malfoy Manor. Here's the girls and Harry getting closer, finds out the truth about Sirius, annd Summer Break _really _begins, because the school term was ended early.**

**Read and Review please!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Trouble**

**Moon: Welcome back to Trouble and a huge thank-you to everyone who reviewed! Now, I had so much fun blowing up Malfoy Manor that in this chapter, I decide to blow up something else! Oh, also the rating will be going up when Harry hits fourth year, which will be some time in the sort-of near future. ie after we rescue Sirius Black. I do not own Harry Potter - enjoy!**

**Chapter 15**

Harry, Carrie and Daphne were inside the Ministry.

Now, this would normally be seen as a borderline suicidal move – Harry had just blown up Malfoy Manor, Carrie was a _muggle _and Daphne was complicit and involved with the crime. To appear within the walls of the magical equivalent of the Supreme Court was not only gusty, it was basically the same as giving every law administrative around the finger.

The other inmates would have chalked it up to typical Potter recklessness; the kid never seemed to be worried about things going wrong, no matter what the potential consequences were. Harry's main policy was basically to emulate Indiana Jones, because who the hell needed _plans_? He just made things up as he went!

Speaking of the other inmates, Harry intended to visit them this summer after being away for so long. It might be a little hard on Officer Parker – he'd avoided giving her trouble for over two years! -but barring Carrie, Pierce and Miranda he hadn't see many of the other inmates in a while. Only Mark and his thugs were truly unlikable characters in the prison; Harry had been startled to discover that most of the kids his age who had committed crimes were doing it out of boredom, desperation, frustration or rebellion against uncaring, distracted or obsessive parents. Aside from that, some of them were actually quite nice, like Alex, Marcie, Sarah, Jedd, Justin or Katelyn.

Harry had been sending them letters, and they had occasionally popped up during the summer, but apart from that he hadn't seen them. He hadn't even told them much about the wizarding world yet. It was true that he had been closest to Carrie, Miranda and Pierce but the others had been there for him to, and a major part of what made early life with the Dursleys bearable.

There was something he'd like to ask them, anyway.

Nevertheless, normally Harry wouldn't be quite so brash, especially not in his normal routine. There were two reasons he was acting out a bit. Firstly there was the thing with his godfather, falsely accused and imprisoned in Azkaban. The major problem being that Harry had no idea how to extortionate him, and his application for visitation rights had been denied by Barty Crouch on the grounds that he was one of the prison's highest security prisoners.

But nothing had been normal since Hagrid had brought him his Hogwarts letter, and this world was abnormal as a rule. So how could a little more abnormal hurt him? Taking chances was the only way anyone ever learned anything. Besides, Carrie never went into a building without an escape route planned out.

"You know, I can't function as your missing sense of self-preservation forever," Carrie had remarked as they entered the building. "One of these days you're going to have to think up your own plan."

"I find life is more fun without one." Harry had said. Daphne had smacked him over the shoulder for that, but her expression made it well worth the effort.

"You idiot," She said fondly. "I suppose I can't begrudge you for your hotheadedness to much, because I'd be dead without it wouldn't I?"

Harry grinned at her and said, "I suppose so. Just wait, next time I'll actually have a plan of attack!" Daphne hit him again, but there was no bite in her eyes. He would have died before he admitted it then, but he liked it when she looked at him like that.

Carrie was right in that this probably wasn't the smartest idea he'd ever come up with. However, the show was just to perfect to pass up.

Turns out that them blowing up Malfoy Manor bore unexpected fruit.

It was Pierce who came up with the idea – normally he was the calmest of the four delinquents but he did have a nasty side. After they had blown up the Manor, they had overlooked their handywork to find that there was a Cup that hadn't been destroyed. Touching it made Harry's head hurt...in the area of his scar, with a feeling he had associated with the back of Quirrel's head all the way back in first year.

They had quickly retreated into a hedge that had managed to escape getting burned when the father of the house came home.

Harry would have liked to take Lucius's photo when he saw the ruins, because it was equally the funniest and most satisfying thing he'd seen all year.

Pierce had texted at this point; luckily Carrie's phone had been on silent. When Carrie explained what was going on, he suggested recording everything the man said when looking over the wreckage. You never know what might come up, and the man was a Death Eater. Astoria had wanted to do it, but Daphne wouldn't let her. In the end, Harry had put on the cloak and walked as close as he dared, holding up the microphone to the blonde man and his stunned son.

Lucius had ranted – ranted and raved, with all sorts of colourful language, aspirations cast on various individuals and profane curses on all mudbloods, even though he had no feasible way of knowing that they were the ones involved. The obvious bigotry was so below his standing as a pureblood that it was kind of sad. Harry considered it a testament to his self-control that he didn't start laughing; there were giggles emanating from the direction of the bush as well.

Lucius had dug through the wreckage until he came up with the strangely invincible cup. He then said something that was beyond Harry's hope – he said that he had gotten it from Bellatrix Lestrange after she was imprisoned – moved from her vault in case it was searched, because it belonged to the Dark Lord. At this point, Harry had stopped recording, hurried back to the truck with his friends and drove straight for the Leaky Cauldron.

Then he'd called Rita Skeeter.

The intrepid reporter had been further investigating the details surrounding the chaos of the Chamber incident, including Lucius Malfoy's accusation of Ginny as the Heir of Slytherin. She was also planning to go back into Albus Dumbledore's past, to see as she said 'if there was anything dark and ominous hiding behind the twinkle of those eyes."

Despite Harry inadvertently interrupting her conversation with Aberfroth Dumbledore, she was happy to see him again, clearly expecting new gossip. She'd asked him a bunch of questions about Dumbledore's impending court hearing, and whether or not he intended to be among the legislature as the last Heir of House Potter.

Harry simply stated that he thought doing so would be in shockingly bad taste, due to his record. This earned boisterous laughter from various people inside the club, and at least two total strangers slapped him on the back and commented on his 'balls of steel'. Both Ginny and Astoria had gone red as beets at this comment, though Harry laughed it off. Then he'd played the recording and asked Rita to write a tell-all about it. She looked like she had just been handed a million galleons.

Needless to say, the paper came out the very next morning.

There had been chaos and commotion throughout both the upper class and within the Ministry itself at this revelation. Lucius had been detained when he came to work that very afternoon, his wife and son also hauled in for questioning. By some stroke of luck, it was Kingsley Shakabolt who was in charge of monitoring the Malfoys so they couldn't bribe their way out of their cells.

Minister Fudge had almost denied it as proof on the sole basis that it had come from a muggle recording device, but thankfully he'd been shouted down by Amelia Bones, who was looking extremely vindicated by this announcement.

There had been a lot of talk, and one thing that had happened was that Ginny was called in to testify against the Senior Malfoy. She had told him how nervous she was feeling in her last letter to him, which had reached him this morning. Harry had bought her an owl she could call her own, as a gesture of friendship. _If I'd been closer to her, paid a little more attention, maybe I could have stopped the Chamber incident before it gained so much momentum. _Her parents hadn't been too happy about her accepting so much money from him, but they didn't protest too much.

He had written back to tell her to just remain calm and tell what she knew. And that he would be waiting there, not as a man with a vote but as a friend giving encouragement, even if she couldn't see him.

When Ginny received this letter, she smiled to herself, because she knew he was referring to the invisibility cloak.

Astoria was also attending in the audience along with her father. Daphne had declined to come simply because she wasn't sure if Lucius could read mines the way their former Headmaster supposedly could, and she didn't want to risk – however small – anyone finding out what they had done last night.

So Harry, Carrie and Daphne were all sitting on three unused seats at the highest benches within the Ministry building. Lucius Malfoy was sitting chained to the chair in the middle, looking furious but also sweating a bit. Ginny was standing at the front of the witness line, looking nervous but determined. Harry spotted his classmate Neville Longbottom in the guest stand as well, looking like he wanted to be just about anywhere else. A second later he figured out why – Neville's much-feared grandmother was sitting in the Ministry stands as one of the Senior members.

To his surprise, he also recognized Ginny's dormmate Meghan Rushman in the crowd as well. Well, she was a pureblood, he mused. Ginny's family was all in the guest area, looking at Lucius with expressions that could kill a dozen men.

Astoria was practically hanging over the bar while her parents looked at the scene in front of them with shock and deep thought. It was no mystery to Daphne – or any of their friends for that matter – that she was hoping that this would be the thing that terminated her arranged marriage to Draco. Harry couldn't see it working out any other way unless Daniel Greengrass was mental enough to have his daughter marry a death eater, and the man didn't strike him as the mental type.

Amelia Bones emerged and banged her gravel on the desk. "Order in the court!"

"It's starting," Carrie hissed. She pulled out a bag of popcorn.

"Where did you get that?" Harry asked, eyes wide.

"What's that?" Daphne asked curiously.

"It's a kind of snack. Popcorn. Buttery. I think you'd like it," Harry said absently, still trying to figure out how Carrie had carried that bag here without him noticing. Daphne raised an eyebrow and tentatively took some of the yellow food and swallowed it. Her eyes lit up.

"Lucius Malfoy, you stand accused of accessory to the crimes of Lord Voldemort -" The crowd collectively flinched. Carrie rolled her eyes, she still didn't see why everyone was so afraid of a dead man's name. "-multiple counts of murder, use of all three Unforgivable Curses, and instigating the corruption of a minor. How do you plead?"

"Not guilty," Lucius proclaimed haughtily. There was noise in the crowd, Molly Weasley let out an enrage shriek, followed by Astoria, who looked like she was being held back by her mother from crossing over the bar and attacking the ponce with her bare hands.

"Why does that not surprise me?" Harry said through his teeth. Both Carrie and Daphne grasped his wrists to keep him calm.

Amelia banged for silence."Very well, we will have that put to the test. The prosecution calls Miss Ginerva Molly Weasley to the stand."

There were a few snickers in the crowd at Ginny's full name. The diminutive redhead was very obviously resisting the urge to glare at the ones responsible; she raised her head high and walked over to the witness chair.

"Arthur Weasley, do we have your permission to use a child's dose of Veristrum to verify Ginny's story?" Amelia enquired. There was a murmur in the crowd and Lucius paled slightly; he had used his money last time to halt any use of the truth potion, but he had no time for this one.

Arthur gave a slight nod, "I give my permission."

A Ministry worker approached Ginny and put a single drop of green liquid into her glass of water. Looking nervous, Ginny gulped it down, shuddered a bit and then nodded obediently at the interrogator.

"Ginny Weasley, can you tell us the nature of the item that possessed you?"

"It looked like an ordinary diary at first glance, but there was nothing written in it. When I started to write in it, the ink would disappear. A second later, it would come back but it had formed different words," Ginny said. "It introduced itself to me as 'Tom Marvalo Riddle', and he said that he had been a sixth year Hogwarts student."

"What kind of correspondence did you have?"

"Well, at first he was very nice to me – very understanding. I...I trusted him, I felt compelled to tell him about things that were bothering me, especially after I was sorted into Slytherin. But after a little he started getting more and more aggressive. He told me to identify every half-blood or muggleborn student that I knew. I started blacking out in the hallways and waking up in a different part of the school, not knowing how I got there. One time I woke up and there was blood all over my hands; Tom had possessed me and forced me to kill all of Hagrid's chickens to write the messages on the wall. I was terrified; I tried to tell my friends, my prefects anyone what was going on but the words wouldn't come out of my mouth. I tried to stop writing in it but my hand started moving against my will. Eventually it went dark and cold for so long I thought I was dead; but then I woke up in the Chamber with Daphne and Harry and Astoria and Tracy."

Ginny's shoulders were shaking, it was obvious the experience still haunted her and retelling it to a huge audience was not easy for her. People smiled encouragingly at the little victim, so that she might get some justice done.

"Did you make the connection between Tom Riddle and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named before he took you to the chamber?"

"No ma'am, he never directly said it to me. He told Harry and the others about it when he was gloating about what he had done in the Chamber. I heard it second hand from them."

"Did any of your teachers seem to notice your erratic behaviour?"

"I think so, Professor Snape pulled me aside one day and asked if I still wasn't over my anxiety over being sorted into his house. I tried to tell him then but something stopped me."

"How exactly did the accused slip you this diary?"

"We were at Diagon Alley," Ginny recalled. "We ran into him and his son Draco there. He pulled out one of my books when he was asking if my father was being well paid for the sweeping searches the Ministry had been doing. He dropped the dairy in my cauldron right afterwards."

"What would have happened to you and Daphne Greengrass had not been rescued?"

Ginny was shaking a bit when she answered, "He would have drained all of our lifeforce and devoured our magical cores; it would have given him a second body and more power than he had previously had."

There were shouts of outrage all over the place at this announcement. Many parents were cussing out Lucius while others held the ears of their children so they wouldn't pick up the language. Carrie looked mildly impressed, "Wow, there are even a few that I don't know."

Ginny was released and ran back to her family. Molly Weasley hugged her daughter tightly and looked like she was going to give Lucius Malfoy one of her personal Howlers in person but was politely dissuaded by Shackabolt.

The next person called to the stand was Ginny's head of house, Severus Snape.

"Can you tell us why the school wasn't extensively searched after Justin Finch-Flinchy was found Petrified?"

"I couldn't tell you Madam Bones." The potions professor said sourly. "I asked Dumbledore that exact same question every time a student turned up Petrified, you can take a Pensieve memory if you don't wish to take my word for it. He just said something about school spirit and dismissed me."

"Why didn't you catch onto Ginny Weasley's possession?"

"The Weasleys were a traditionally Gryffindor family," Severus explained. "Having miss Ginerva sorted into my house came as a shock to everyone. She looked terrified as she descended into the dungeons, and some of the, ahem, higher-class students were bullying her mercilessly over her 'blood traitor' status. I had attributed her strange behaviour to this and focused my attention on styming my students attitude towards her. It wasn't until she disappeared, along with Greengrass that I pieced together what was actually happening."

"Does Headmistress McGonagall have any and all records of Tom Riddle's history at the school avalible?"

"Yes. She told me to report to the DMLE that they are ready for your earliest convenience."

"Do you know why Harry Potter had declined to take his seat in the Wizamgot?" Amelia questioned.

Snape gave her a wry, sarcastic half-grin before saying, "According to him, he thought that sitting on a legislature while having a criminal record, albeit a muggle one, would be in shockingly bad taste."

Despite the tone of the trial, there was a ripple of laughter through the witnesses at this particular comment. Rita Skeeter was clearly having a ball writing her next expose. Even the stoic Amelia Bones took a second to crack a smile at this comment.

After a few more witnesses the main event began. Veristrum had to be forcefully applied to Lucius who was looking both furious and panicky.

Amelia began the questioning, her eyes having taken a steely glint to them, "How many Unforgivables have you cast?"

"Thirty-five." There was a gasp within the crowd. Carrie swore under her breath. Both Daniel and Angela Greengrass looked as though they were going to be sick.

"How long were you in service to the Dark Lord?"

"Ever since my seventh yeat at Hogwarts. I was a spy at first, and then joined officially after I graduated."

"Have you taken the Dark Mark? Has your wife taken the Dark Mark? Your son?"

"I have taken the Mark. Narcissa refused it; she was raised under pureblood ideals but she was horrified by the lengths my master was willing to go. I have raised Draco under my dogma and he will take the Mark as soon as he is old enough." Lucius ground out, clearly trying to fight the truth potion but failing.

"You planted the diary on Ginny Weasley knowing what it was and what it was meant to do."

"Yes!"

"Tell us the exact nature of the diary and the cup retrieved from the destruction of your manor."

There was a long, painful pause. Lucius Malfoy's expression had become one of pure terror. He tried to lock his jaw but the word came out anyway, "Horcruxes."

And then his head exploded.

Harry jerked back in his seat, Daphne's hard flew over her mouth. Screams erupted within the crowd, people scrambled backwards to get as far away from the body as possible. Amelia was shouting and Aurors were pouring into the room.

Both Ginny and Astoria were gripping the iron bars and staring at the gory scene in front of them with a hard, unreadable expression that belied their ages.

"What the hell was that?" Carrie gasped. Even for a hardened delinquent, she looked shaken. Harry was equally stunned and sickened by what had just happened; for the first time in a long time he had aboslutely nothing to say.

"I think," Daphne whispered, her face turning the same shade of green that it had when she had seen Fluffy rip of a troll's head. "that was a punishment for revealing one of the Dark Lord's secrets."

"Let's go," Carrie hissed, "Security's going to be crawling all over this place, we better be scarce."

"Yes," Daphne said. "There's something I want to talk to my father about."

%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&

Daniel Greengrass was not having a good day; he nearly stumbled as he and the rest of the guests were politely evacuated from the ministry in case there were any other explosive curses attached to the body of Lucius Malfoy. His wife had gone deathly pale and was clutching his arm like a lifeline.

His younger daughter walked out in front of him when they were on the streets and raised her passionate green eyes. "Dad," She said, "To quote a muggle phrase – I hate to say 'I told you so', but...I told you so!"

Daniel stared down at his precious baby girl for a moment before sweeping her up in a tight embrace, "Oh Astoria! I've been a fool. I nearly trusted a Death Eater with the future; I nearly trusted him with you. I'm so sorry. Will you forgive me?"

"Of course daddy," Astoria's voice was muffled slightly against his shirt. Angela tapped him on the shoulder and she told her daughter and hugged her as well.

"Father, Mother, Astoria." Daphne ran up the street, breathless, "I heard what happened inside the Ministry, are you all alright?"

"We are fine," Angela said slightly shakily, "But we have a marriage contract to terminate. We're headed straight for Gringotts."

"I know mother." Daphne stood in front of them, her eyes shining with absolute certainty. "There's something else I want to do while I'm there, something very important to me. I've thought it over very carefully. You've told me earlier this month that I owe a life debt to Harry; and I've decided exactly how I'm going to repay it. Make me Daphne Potter."

%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&

Unknown to Daphne, a certain small redhead was having a smiliar conversation with both her mother and a very flustered, blushing Harry.

"G-Ginny, I-I-" Molly Weasley was not a woman who got flustered easily, but today was proving to be the poverbial exception. After all the worry about her daughter being taken prisoner, then escaping, then the events of the trial had been trying enough, but this new announcement truly threw her for a loop. "I-Are you certain?"

Ginny raised her brown eyes and smiled at Harry; the boy's cheeks flushed even darker and he ran a hand through his long black hair. "Yes mum. I can think of no other way I wish to fulfil this Life Debt. There's something I can't explain but I feel drawn to Harry. Everything about him draws me in, his sense of humour, his bravery, his unshakable honour, his willingness to put his life selflessly on the line for others. I feel complete, I feel stronger around him, near him. If I can't be Ginny Potter than make me Ginny Black. I know he's the heir to both titles. I wish to by Harry's wife."

There was so much conviction in this tone that the fact that the girl had just turned twelve years old and the boy thirteen didn't seem to make an iota of difference.

Arthur turned his attention to Harry, who looked, for the first time since Ginny had met him, like he wanted to sink into the floor out of embarrassment. "Do you love my daughter?" He asked simply. If his little girl was going to marry anyone he wanted it to be someone who cared for her unconditionally.

Harry looked actually shy!, he managed a sincere smile and looked up at the two parents, "I value Ginny very deeply. After I saved her I felt something take hold inside me. I will protect her with my life."

He sounded very sincere. Despite his background in vandalism and theft, Arthur found himself trusting the errant boy-who-lived and said, "Well, I think a trip to Gringotts is in order."

%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%

These two families ran into each other, in a happy coincidence, right on the steps to the bank. The inital conversation was awkward, but Daniel and Angela were no pureblood bigots; they addressed the Weasleys with utmost politeness and friendliness.

When they exchanged their reasons for being at the bank, there was a bit of a quandary, but then Harry explained that he was saddled with House Restoration and the problem, for lack of a better term, magically disappeared.

Astoria nearly gave her parents a heart attack when she promptly threw her arms around Harry's neck and kissed him. "You too Ash?" Daniel said, he'd never been so flustered in his life.

Astoria pulled back and grinned, "There's no one else like him, dad. No one." Harry looked horribly embarrassed by this praise but nodded sheepishly.

The contracts were drawn up while the new in-laws chatted amiably, ice broken. The bond would lie dormant until the four of them came of age at seventeen, but they were officially engaged at this point, with rings to prove it.

That night Harry and his three girls moved back into Potter Manor. They stared at the dusty interior for a long moment.

Astoria, predictably, was the one to break the silence. "This place _so _needs to be redecorated."

"Agreed," Harry said. He let out his breath, "But right now I really need some sleep."

**End Chapter**

**That was fun. If only Lucius had blown up in Canon too. Well, our pairings are finally bonded. Next chapter opens with some kissing :)**

**Read and Review please!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Trouble**

**Moon: (headdesk. Headdesk. Headdesk) UGH. Okay, I'm sorry this is an interlude, not a full chapter, but I just wanted to get a few things out of the way so I can get the next part started. Also, school happened, and I'm tied up. I'm really, really sorry. Now, have fun watching Death Eaters get their stuff burned. I don't own Harry Potter, though I really wish I did.**

**Interlude: Pyromania**

"Hey Alex."

"Wha...Harry? Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"Yeah. Sorry, but I needed to talk to you as soon as possible."

"Hey, be quiet! What are you doing? You do realize that if my dad catches me talking to another boy after last year-"

"Alex, shush. Listen. I have a place where you can hide."

"Seriously? You're not messing with me?"

"I'm serious Alex. But I also need some help. I called some of our other friends from our cell block, and they're going to be here today too. But what I'm going to ask..it's difficult, and it'll require believing some crazy things."

"Harry, you're a rascal, but you're a good kid at heart. So where is this place?"

%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&

Harry had a map of Magical London out in front of him, along with a pile of old newspapers and documents that he had accumulated with some help from Dobby. He was leaning over it with a serious expression. One you didn't see your average kid using. It was one you associated with teenage criminals or gang members, and it never boded well.

It was a rather extensive map, with roads leading to certain locations highlighted with notes next to them. There were words all over the map, in fact, shaped like they were directions or plans. There were many red markings on it. Things were circled. Manors. Shops. Dens. Back Alleys.

Targets.

It was a net, and a very meticulous one at that. Closing it in, to try and make sure there were as few loop holes as possible. There was a list of names written on the side of it, along with various times and dates.

The current Daily Prophet was sitting on the desk as well, holding the story of Lucius's trail. The curse that blew his head up was identified as a means of keeping one individual from giving away a secret and its details. The curse was only a few years old, which meant that whatever the Dark Lord had done, he had done it soon after his death.

The Horcruxes, whatever they were, were classified as top secret by the Ministry who promised to take care of them. Needless to say, people were talking. Some of the darkest magic in existence...supposedly, once you had made one, you could never die – but you had crossed a line that you can never return from.

Now, normally Harry didn't get involved with politics. Frankly, Voldemort and his whole blood supremacy ravings seemed little more than a glorified gang war than any actual open, country-wide conflict. Despite his less-than-an-upstanding-citizen act, Harry didn't get involved in that sort of thing.

However, this was the same guy who murdered his parents, and the fact that the curse still held and the scant information he had about Horcruxes, the bastard was still out there. After two girls he cared for deeply were also nearly killed in the crossfire Harry was privately declaring war on the now-wraith Dark Lord.

Now, this sounded easy enough but was difficult in practice. The underage magic restriction was still in place, effectively curbing anything Harry might have been able to do magically until he returned to school.

He had woken up early to get Dobby from the Malfoys. He had made a promise, after all. Narcissa hadn't required much convincing, considering what had just happened to her husband Harry supposed he shouldn't be surprised.

House elves could do things that wizard's couldn't, and Dobby had nearly fallen over himself with enthusiasm for doing the will of the Great Harry Potter before the young convict could even complete his explanation.

Then he'd made some calls. Pentacost was pleased to hear from him again, and offered to repoen a place in the Blood Knights for Harry. The boy had politely declined and then offered a handsome payment for his latest insane scheme. Daphne was slightly doubtful about it, although she conceded that she could see why it could work.

He wondered if this was the right thing to do. This hadn't bothered him so much when he had done these sorts of things before, but he'd never attempted something on this scale before.

Death Eaters. He'd come up with the most comprehensive list that he could find of all those still outside of Azkaban, all of them from the ones with money and influence to the low-level grunts.

He was going on a demolition spree.

%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%

"So," Alex said. "Magic is real."

It wasn't much of a question, seeing as Miranda and Pierce had to guide him, Marcie, Katelyn and Justin through Diagon Alley to the Manor where Harry was residing. That, and Ginny and Tracy were levitating books in many different directions. Carrie had been there ever since last night.

This had been a bit much for the muggles to take in, having only the bearest minimal understanding of Harry's 'powers' before this point. So Astoria sat them down and told them all they needed to know in exchange for them telling her about muggle political systems. Tracy came over at some point, her father having filed a marriage contract, and the conversion promptly shifted from politics to how plane engines worked.

It was a weird lunch.

After that, Harry sat them all down in the War Conference Room (yes, it was called that) and carefully explained his utterly insane master plan to them. Alex had been mortified at what the younger kid had in mind and wondered if magic affected your sanity to any degree. All four female witches scowled at him.

Justin and Katelyn, on the other hand, looked like they had just been given the last five Christmas's and their birthdays, too, all at once.

"You _want _me to blow things up?" Katelyn whispered, her tenures in Juvie had been due to the fact that the seemingly innocent, sweet and petite redhead was a major, utterly uncontrollable pyromaniac.

Harry nodded and smiled. Ginny pointed to various houses on the list. "Basically the plan is to destroy whatever we can, like Malfoy Manor, and see if anything survives it. Because if there's a small object that isn't blown to kingdom come, that means it's a Horcrux and we'll give it to the DMLE for disposal. If there's nothing there, well then there's a massive blow to Mr I-Plan-To-Take-Over-The-World-By-Possessing-Eleven -Year-Olds and his supporters. With any luck it will also expose their less-than-savoury passtimes or new evidence that was conveniently overlooked."

"Remind me how we fit into this?" Marcie asked curiously.

"I'm not allowed to do magic over summer break, and the wards are very sophisticated. If I do anything overt it will cause a lot of domestic drama that quite frankly is so tedious I'd probably jump out a window to escape it. Besides, if it's muggle it can't be traced because wizards don't seem to consider you a threat. They won't even know you're there." Harry explained.

Marcie grinned. "So basically we can raise all the hell we want and waltz away, leaving them running around like Headless chickens?"

"Yes. Basically."

Katelyn's grin was approaching Lucifer levels, and she burst out into maniac laugher. "Okay," Justin cracked his knuckles. "Which house gets torched first?"

**Parkinson Manor**

As much as Astoria would have loved to torch the house with Evan and Pansy still inside, she couldn't do it in good conscience, so she had to trick them out of it while Katelyn went nuts with the explosives.

Oh, and maybe she should have let them get a little further away before blowing the house sky-high. Maybe she was still a little angry with the way Pansy had been treating Ginny during their second year. Maybe she didn't have to also set fire to the grounds...or the sheds...or the stables...or the other empty servant quarters...yeah, Astoria could hold a slight grude.

Just a little.

Katelyn had been cackling like a madwoman the entire run to the next house, while Astoria mentally stored the image of the spoiled, cruel Parkinson's faces when their mansion and grounds went up in flames.

**Goyle Manor**

Justin brought popcorn with him. Despite him knowing the very unpleasant sides to gang life, he couldn't help the glamour that came with working with some of the Blood Knights. Harry paid well the few times he contacted them, apparently. The kid was a sweet one, but damn he had a ruthless streak!

The Goyle folks were monumentally stupid, Justin practically had to drag the idiot kid out of the house to keep him from getting killed.

Thankfully, his face had been obscured by a mask. It never hurt to be careful.

**Crabbe Manor**

"Pyromania, Pyromania ow, Pyromania, ow ow ow..." Katelyn sang as she threw a stick of dynamite through the window.

Daphne mildly walked up behind Carrie and Pierce, who were pouring gasoline over the floo entrance, watching with no small amount of trepidation as Katelyn went nuts with some flamethrowers. There was a certain carthesis to seeing criminals who had walked off without even a reprimand, the fun Katelyn was having was...slightly worrying. "Erm, Miss Fawkes-"

"Call me Carrie, Daphne, please. Miss makes me feel old."

"Alright. Carrie, this may not be my place to ask, but is Katelyn completely well?"

Carrie cast a glance over to where her friend was having the time of her life torching a death eater hideout. "I've wondered that a few times myself. I think it's just a tick of hers. At least she's using it on death eater manors this time instead of school textbooks."

"Hey, Nelson sucks! It makes better firewood than a teaching apparatus!" Pierce protested vehemently.

**Later**

Amelia Bones was in a situation.

Now, it wasn't an entirely unpleasant situation. In fact, it was her professionalism that kept her from jumping for joy like a five year old.

Over the day, some angel from above had coordinated an attack on every death eater who escaped custody by their money or by claiming Imperious. They were using some sort of untraceable fire and explosive curses that she couldn't track.

Her office had been swarmed by 'upstanding pureblood citizens' screaming at her to do something, and that did wear on her very quickly, but it was her first victory against these cockroaches since Lucius's trial, and there was no way she was going to complain about it.

Evan Parkinson in particular had an expression she'd like to frame and put on her wall.

**End Chapter**

**There. Agh. Ugh. I can't express how much I hate school for doing this to my brain. It's like it's draining all the creative juice out of me. So frustrating. **

**Read and Review and please don't hate me for how short it is!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Trouble**

**Moon: Okay, I meant for Dumbledore's trial to be in one chapter, but it kind of got away from me. That and I've been thinking a little more about some of my other ideas; and about school, which is still messing with me. For those of you waiting on Wand, Knife and Silence, I'm still working on the fight scene with the dragon, kindly bear with me. It should be up soon. Sooo, here's the first of the trial. I do not own Harry Potter. **

**Chapter 17: Dumbledore's Hearing, Part 1**

Thanks to the mysterious vigilante attacks on Death Eater property, Albus Dumbledore's hearing had been pushed back until August 28th, two days before school restarted.

Amelia Bones had been working almost nonstop since, though not as hard as she made it out to be. Somewhere out there she had an ally, she realized, someone who also wanted to get rid of Death Eaters. Whoever it was had some impressive tricks up their sleeve; usually fire or explosive curses that powerful left traces that could be followed back to the wizard who had fired them. But there was something different about the marks these explosions left behind, leaving her wondering if it was some sort of muggle invention. Amelia Bones knew for a fact that muggles weren't quite as weak or foolish as purebloods liked to think they were. She wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Whoever this vigilante was, as long as he or she kept being this careful she would keep as much under her hat as she could.

Of course, trying to reopen Death Eater trials was easier said than done. Despite their history, they were often purebloods with considerable political clout, undoubtedly created by a good many bribes and threats. Either way, it was set up as a fall back should things go badly for them. It was a frustrating reality. Amelia hoped that with the revelation of the Horcruxes that she'd be given some room to accuse them of different crimes.

This was one of the ways that the mysterious house-burner was being of great help. The purebloods were spending thousands upon thousands of galleons trying to replace their houses and everything inside.

And the calls for investigation had allowed them to 'stumble' on Dark Artifacts that had survived the explosions. Evan Parkinson was currently shut up in the Ministry awaiting his own trail, along with Gerald Nott. There were a few others, but most of them had managed to escape. Again.

Lucius Malfoy had been the only one to have a Horcrux within his house.

Soul Jars. The Horcruxes themselves were a nightmare of politics. You-Know-Who could return. It was an undeniable fact, as the sight of two horcruxes suggested that the twisted wizard had created more than one of them. That sickened even hardened Aurors, it was despicable enough to create one horcrux considering what was involved but to create more than one? It was almost unfathomable. The worst part was that they weren't sure exactly how many the man had made, there was almost nothing for them to go on aside from the diary and the cup.

It would require a ritual, but before that he would be a wraith that could potentially possess people and make them do his bidding. Amelia Bones was currently fighting with the suspicion that the Wraith had been involved during that incident two years ago – when a starving Cerberus had set upon six Hogwarts students – two of whom were muggleborn.

Perhaps the real reason Dumbledore was keeping the hungry Cerberus within the school walls was that he was expecting the Dark Lord to return? Expecting him to return, and come after the one who had originally caused his death, Amelia realized.

Harry Potter.

The eleven year old boy had been one of the victims, and he'd been the one who lead the attack to save Ginny and Daphne. Amelia had been at this job for a while and she didn't believe in coincidences. If Voldemort was still around he was actively targeting the boy, then did Dumbledore know about it? If he didn't, it meant he wasn't paying very much attention to what was happening inside the school, and it was a good thing he was taken down. If he did know, but did nothing to intervene...or...

Or could he have meant for Harry to face Voldemort?

Amelia stopped shuffling the many, many papers in front of her and sat up straight. Dumbledore was well-known for his eccentricities as well as his powers as one of the greatest modern wizards. But even he with all his powers, despite Voldemort fearing him he could not defeat the Dark Wizard. And Harry, as a baby, had managed to vanquish him for reasons no one understood.

Had he meant to groom Harry as his successor? As a soldier to defeat the Dark Lord when he eventually returned?

According to Ginny Weasley Voldemort's original name was Tom Riddle. There wasn't much to go on in his school records; he had been adept enough at concealing his true nature back then that he had been made Head Boy. However, it gave them some ancestry to trace. The man was a half-blood, his mother was Merope Gaunt. The Gaunt family was infamous for it's inbreeding and the fact that they were allegedly the last living descendants of Salazar Slytherin – something that was apparently untrue, given the existence of Harry Potter.

Voldemort, half blood. That was going in the Daily Prophet the minute Amelia had a spare moment. How did you come to such a conclusion? Someone who pushed pureblood supremacy to its highest degree, and he was a half-blood. By his own doctrine, he shouldn't exist. The head of the DMLE didn't have much time, but she took a moment to appreciate the irony of that.

But nevertheless, Dumbledore had seen the diary and claimed that no such magic existed, and yet clearly it did.

Not only did this mean he had sent a little girl to jail over something he knew she hadn't done, but it meant he was withholding dangerous information that would be _vital _to the defeat of Voldemort should he use them to return! They wouldn't be able to destroy him without destroying his anchors, and no one really knew where they were.

Amelia considered this. Sirius Black was in prison as Voldemort's second – in – command. He, above any of the Death Eaters they had managed to capture barring perhaps Bellatrix Lestrange, would be able to tell her about the Dark Lord's Horcruxes.

Amelia called for her secretary to bring her Sirius Black's files. Then she considered the upcoming trial, of one of the (formerly) most respected wizards in Britain.

It was going to be quite the spectacle, with many people turning in to see it. It would be a battle between angry parents and the man's die-hard supporters. It was also loaded with press; whatever the verdict was Dumbledore's rep was severely damaged, and it would be the fastest such a thing had ever happened to someone so universally praised for so long after his defeat of Grindelwald.

Her secretary returned quickly and placed the file on her desk. Amelia looked at it in shock, it was recorded that Sirius Black had never been tried at all.

Amelia couldn't believe it, and it added to the severe headache she was building up. Tomorrow started in a few hours, and it was going to be a long, long day.

%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&

"Hey, Blaise! Hey Dean! Fancy seeing you here!"

The Italian boy turned around to see Harry walking up to him with his girls following quickly behind him. Blaise did a little mental calculation, caught sight of a tell-tale ring on their fingers and did his best to squash his smirk.

"Nice to see you, Harry. I see you're under House Restoration." Blaise said. He smiled a bit as the black-haired boy blushed a bit.

Dean looked at Blaise in confusion. The darker boy simply ginned and him and indicated the group of girls. Astoria caught the look he was giving her and smirked back.

Dean's jaw dropped. "You're kidding," He said weakly. "Those..."

"Yeah," Harry said. "That...that was basically my reaction when I got the news. Apparently it's a pure blood thing...when there aren't very many members of your family left. Though it isn't really that bad, once you're over the shock...Dean?"

Dean jaw was still hanging open, with some effort he closed it. "No fair." He said eventually. Tracy scowled at him and Blaise snickered.

"You guys are here to see the trial?" Harry asked.

"Yes." Blaise said. "My mother-" He indicated a beautiful but dangerous-looking woman standing talking to Andromeda Tonks not far away from them in the forum of the Ministry. "-came over here because she wanted to see what became of Sirius Black."

Dean whitened, "Black? They're calling him in?"

"To be questioned," Harry said, smiling grimly. He wasn't sure exactly how it had come up, but he was glad it was, because he had been at loss for any way to help his imprisoned godfather that didn't involve breaking into Azkaban, which would be a fool's errand thanks to its terrifying guards.

"Apparently, there's some talk about Dumbledore being aware of the Horcruxes and it's one of the things being discussed during the trial today." Blaise responded. "And mum found out that they never gave Sirius a trial." He shivered. "My mother is scary, guys. Never make her angry if you can help it."

"You're using Sirius's first name," Ginny said curiously. "Did your mum know Sirius?"

"They went to school together." Blaise said. "I think they were close, though mother didn't always have an easy time talking about him. Though I'm starting to suspect why, after this." He gestured to where Samantha Zabini was still having an animated chatter with Tonks and her daughter.

After a second, Harry recognized her as the Auror who had transfigured Vernon and Petunia into pigs what felt like an eternity ago.

"You guys mind waiting here for a second?" He asked, as Samantha finished her conversation with Andromeda and headed in their direction. "There's something I have to ask her."

Astoria nodded. Harry took off in the direction of Andromeda, speed-walking until he came into view of the woman.

"Excuse me." He said. Andromeda turned around, and her eyes widened when she saw Harry. "Are you Andromeda Tonks?"

"Yes I am."

Harry smiled a bit. "I'm Harry...I saw you in my parent's wedding picture."

That was enough for Andromeda, she swept the young boy up in her arms. She had wanted to take care of Harry but Dumbledore had blocked her, saying that he'd be safer where he had sent him. Very safe indeed! Andi had read the article where Harry had said that those muggles mistreated him to the point where he took refuge in a child's jail. She should have just gone and taken him away when he was little, damn the consequences. "Yes, I was there. You probably don't remember me but I was your auntie Andi." She said sadly, trying to control her emotions.

"Auntie Andi," Harry repeated, smiling a bit more, his expressive green eyes wide and happy. "Hi."

Andromeda let go of Harry and gently ran her fingers through his dark hair. "You've gotten bigger since I last saw you," She chuckled. "But you're not the only one." She nodded to Tonks. "This is my daughter, Nympadora."

"Tonks!" Her daughter broke in. Andi sighed. No matter how many times she said it, Dora never warmed up to her full name.

Harry let go of Andromeda and grinned up at Tonks. He hugged her around the middle and said, "Aren't you the Auror who turned my aunt and uncle into pigs?"

"That was you? Dora!" Andromeda exclaimed.

Dora blushed sheepishly and nodded, patting Harry on the back. "Wotcher, Harry," She said. "Yeah, that was me...sorry but I read the stuff you said about them and I kind of lost my temper."

Harry just tossed his head back and laughed at this, "No need to apologize Tonks, that was the best present I had gotten in ages."

"You're here for the trial?" Dora asked. "You haven't taken your seats yet."

"No, I haven't." Harry said. "I'm just going to be watching. After everything that happened my first two years I wanted to be here to find out why, from Dumbledore himself."

Andromeda nodded, slightly confused. That was a very adult thing for Harry to say but he had made it clear that he had never had a childhood. Perhaps it shouldn't surprise her, but it didn't make it any less distressing for her to hear. She hadn't been as close to Lily and James as Sirius had been, but she had known them well enough and it hurt her to know that Harry had suffered like that.

At least now he wasn't living in that house, but in his father and mother's original home. That was nice to know, though it bothered her that he and a number of girls were living there without any apparent adult supervision, just a group of older children who'd also been in trouble with the law.

Andi decided that after this trial she'd go home with the boy; she'd firecall Ted and fill him in on that plan whenever there was a break. Harry had been on his own for long enough. One glance at Tonks and she knew that she agreed with her, the Auror side of her daughter had been out in force whenever someone mentioned the Dursley's cruel treatment of him.

Now she just had to handle seeing Sirius in chains as a Death Eater. That would hurt more than anything else.

%&%&%&%&%&%&&%%&%&

Harry was intimidated by Samantha Zabini.

She was tall, beautiful and fierce as a tiger, it showed in her stormy grey eyes. A disapproving look from her could freeze anyone, including him. An impressive feat, considering how flippant and confident he usually was when dealing with older people.

So he had absolutely no problem with both Blaise and Ginny sitting between her and him.

As Amelia had predicted, the guest rooms were packed to standing order with as many witches and wizards as could get there. There were even more outside the building; there were charms being placed on the room so those outside could keep up with the proceedings. There were lawn chairs and food being passed out, people were expecting it to be a long day.

"I really hope he doesn't get off again," Astoria mutters. "If this doesn't work I'm not sure if anything will."

"With a spectacle like this, even if he's acquitted I don't think it will matter," Tracy said. "No one would trust him again, including high society. It wouldn't be nice, but at least he won't be the man he used to be."

Daphne nodded in agreement. "Ginny, will you be testifying again?"

The redhead shook her head no. "I asked about it, I wanted to but Ms. Bones said that she already had all the information I had already given them at the last trial."

"I'll be testifying," Harry explained, shocking everyone.

"You will be?" Dean asked immediately. "How?"

"The head of DMLE approached me a few minutes before we found our seats." Harry explained. "She wanted me to be ready to testify about everything I knew by the end of the trial."

Blaise whistled. "You're brave, Harry. Regardless of what happened at the school and what information he might have been holding back, a lot of people still think highly of Dumbledore. You might be in trouble with them."

"Don't worry about it. Hogwarts is generally safe and after this I'll be portkeying straight home. We'll be as safe as possible." Harry promised. "I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't have an escape plan made out. Carrie makes sure of it."

"Because without her you'd be running headlong into things like the Gryffindor you are," Ginny said with mock disdain, Harry scowled at her but this stopped when they heard a chuckle come from Blaise's unshakable mother.

Samantha smirked in their direction before looking back at the trial room.

Blaise looked awed, "You made mum laugh! That _never _happens. I've made it happen...what, once or twice? I can get her to smile fine, but hardly ever laugh."

"She's a serious woman," Dean asked.

"Yeah. Has been for a long time. I think she used to laugh more but not so much anymore. My usual stepdads aren't very nice." Blaise said with a sigh. "I wish there was someone eligible who would be able to make mother laugh and smile all the time."

"Thank you for that, Blaise," Samantha said mildly. "Now that you've got your seats, I have a madman to prosecute." She walked out through the crowd and towards Amelia Bones, who'd clearly been waiting for her.

"You're mother's a lawyer?" Dean said, surprised.

"It's her day job," Blaise said. Harry detected some evasion in his voice, but didn't push. He didn't want to anger the woman by asking a personal question.

Little did Blaise know that the aftermath of this trial would give him and his mother exactly what they wanted.

%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%%&%&%&%&

"Order in the Court! This court is now in session!"

The excited babbling died down. Albus Dumbledore was standing in the defence's seat, staring at the crowd leaning in their chairs, many desperate to rip into him. Amelia Bones was sitting in the judge's chair. Cornelius Fudge was in the jury seats, along with many other wizards Albus had once thought were on his side, or at least understood him. They were scowling now.

"State your full name for the record."

"Albus Percival Wilfric Brian Dumbledore."

The courtroom murmured. Rita had gotten out one of her quills and was clearly waiting for the dam to burst and give her the expose of her life time.

"The charges are as follows," Barty Crouch read out, "Withholding vital war information from the Ministry, several counts. Kidnapping, one count of Harry James Potter. One count, knowingly violating the will of his parents, James Charles Potter and Lily Sarah Potter nee Evans by placing him with one Vernon Dursley and Petunia Dursley nee Evans. Child Endangerment, 1600 counts. Accessory to the injury of a child, fifteen counts. One count, wrongful imprisonment of one Ginerva Molly Weasley by virtue of withholding critical information from her charges. Accessory to child abuse of Harry James Potter, one count. How do you plead?"

"Not guilty." Albus said. "I must ask, 1600 counts? I don't-"

"The standing student body of Hogwarts numbers at 800 students." Crouch boomed. "Their lives were collectively put in danger twice, so that makes two counts per student."

Another wave of murmuring swept the crowd, with at least two parents shouting 'that's right!' from their vantage point somewhere at the back. Albus shivered and sat up straighter in his chair. He could prove that he was doing the right thing. He'd always been a good speaker. Surely he could turn these charges around. He was the Leader of the Light. He would not be brought down by this.

"The Prosecution begins its case." The Prosecution attorney, Samantha Zabini, intoned. Albus wondered how she'd gotten the post – she was Italian, and had been a Slytherin when she was at Hogwarts. "I wish to have Ginerva Weasley's earlier testimonies read again."

**Back with Harry...**

Ginny buried her face in her hands. "Do they _have _to keep calling me that?" She asked despairingly. "Why did mum have to name me that? Why didn't she call me Sasha or Amy or Marie? That name is so embarrassing!"

"It's just protocol, Ginny. I'm sure they'll call you Ginny after that." Astoria said comfortingly.

"I wish," Ginny moped.

**In the Courtroom...**

"He was nice to me...I felt compelled to tell [Tom] about all my fears and worries. He told me to identify all my muggleborn friends after a while, when he was getting more aggressive. I did so, even though I didn't want to – it was like I was writing things against my will...it was like a cloud had settled over my mind, I kept passing out and then waking up in another part of the castle, not knowing how I got there...I looked it up, it said that there were forbidden rituals that could create object likes these ones. After Harry and the girls saved me, I told the authorities everything that happened, and I refrenced the book...but Lucius declared me his scapegoat and the Headmaster did nothing to protect me, even though he knew that I would be tossed in Azkaban.'." Samantha quoted, before putting the paper down.

She stood up and walked across the room, addressing the crowd. "Using an eleven-year-old girl as a distraction when you know the truth is not the actions of a caring headmaster. This is as plain as day, for some mysterious muggles explicitly rescued Ginny _from the docks of Azkaban_. There was no illusion as to what the late Malfoy had intended for the girl, and yet she slipped right through the justice system. Now, why would Dumbledore condone such a thing, unless there was something he needed out of it?"

Samantha paused, letting the people in the stands mutter amongst themselves, before continuing, "Now, unless the 'most brilliant man in Britain' will have us believe that he couldn't discover what was attacking students before a few students decades his junior, there was still his refusal to evacuate the school when children were being attacked. What exactly was he waiting for?"

"This might – might – have been understandable in some way had this not become a pattern. The year before this, six children were attacked – first by a troll and then by a Cerberus, both of whom had mysteriously gotten past the Dark Creature wards that had been repeatedly declared unassailable by every headmaster previous to him. When confronted with this information, the headmaster claimed that it was a breech of security, but it did not matter for 'nothing serious came of it."

The young prosecutor let that speak for itself. There were outraged cries coming from various points at the room. Amelia banged her gravel for order, and it took several minutes for the clamour to calm down. Dumbledore looked back and forth uneasily.

After a minute, the noise calmed down, allowing Amelia to continue.

"These students – Harry Potter, Dean Thomas, Blaise Zabini-" She paused here, her voice a bit shaky as she remembered how close her son had come to loosing his life "-Hermione Granger, Tracy Davis and Daphne Greengrass – survived only by luck and ingenuity. Incidentally, Tracy Davis had also been the victim of an earlier attack; nearly plummeting to her death due to an unstable and ancient broom. The Headmaster had the connections and the clout to call in a favour and have the brooms replaced. He didn't, and this negligence nearly killed an eleven year old girl."

Samantha turned on her heel and paused in her pacing. Her voice was carrying and passionate. "And then there was the Chamber of Secrets. Aside from not evacuating, there is credible evidence that Dumbledore knew exactly what had gone on inside the Chamber of Secrets when Potter, Astoria Greengrass and Davis went to rescue Ginny Weasley and Daphne Greengrass. This entailed the three children, having barely begun their schooling, facing down a monster of ancient legend, that has killed most adult wizards who have ever faced one. Once again, it's through canny luck and stratagy that they were able to slay the monster, but once again it almost cost one of them – Harry Potter – his life. At only this point did the great Albus Dumbledore deign to intervene; sending his phoenix to save the boy-who-lived and bring all the children to the infirmary."

"Dumbledore then proceeded to deny just about everything involved with the Chamber. Had Harry Potter not gone public with what actually happened in the Chamber, the identity of the true Heir of Slytherin never would have been revealed, and an innocent girl would have been trapped in a living hell for her entire life."

Samantha paused when another racket went up. Amelia started banging her gravel again, and finally shouted, "Aurors, send some of your men among the guests! There will be order at this trial, or I will have the court cleared!"

Aurors in official robes weaved among the people in the stands, saying things. There was a clamour for a little longer, but it hushed again, more quickly this time. Rita was eagerly whispering to her self-dictating quill. Harry watched the entire scene with a serious, blank face.

Amelia turned her head to the prosecution. "Thank you. Zabini, you may continue with your prosecution."

Samantha dipped her head and began to speak again. "Now, this is gravely serious for one specific reason. The true identiy of the Heir of Slytherin is that of the darkest wizard to have roamed Britain in the last few centuries, who started a war that killed hundreds of innocents and left hundreds more trying to pick up the pieces of their broken lives. This man is Tom Riddle, known to the world as Lord Voldemort."

There were some screams as she said the name aloud. One of the Aurors fired off a canon blast with his wand, and a choking silence fell once again. Dumbledore shifted in his seat, clearly looking as though he didn't like where this was going, though he was powerless to stop it.

"As noted in the aftermath of Lucius Malfoy's trial, there were these anomalies called Horcruxes. There is a reality to this that is terrifying, but it is a possibility that cannot be ignored. Supposedly, a Horcrux is something you can use to retain your existence, even after you die."

"Now, many of us do not want to believe this is possible. And believe me, this is understandable. This country and the outlying ones were torn apart by the first war, and we've struggled to pick up the pieces. But if there's even a chance that another war can occur, that the man who caused all this could somehow return, we must be able to cut it out at the roots or face a catastrophe worse than the one that proceeded it."

"I understand that many will not be comfortable with this, but there is one man who is most likely to know the truth about the Horcruxes." Samantha took a deep breath. "I call Sirius Black up for questioning under Veritaserum."

**Back with Harry**

Dean sucked in a sharp breath. Blaise craned his neck to see what was happening. The entire room fell silent as they watched the doors swing open. Harry stood up in his seat and watched as the man walked into the room.

Sirius Black looked terrible. He had been given a haircut and clean clothes, but there were rings under his eyes, he was emancipated and drained, and there was a look of haunting and pain in his dark eyes. There was no trace of insanity or rage. He looked at Samantha and then at Dumbledore, and he didn't look very much like a Death Eater. He looked like he was heartbroken.

Sirius turned his eyes out into the crowd, and Harry knew in his gut that he was looking for any sign of his godson. His heart pounded painfully. _Let this work, _he begged fate, god, anything that was listening. _Let them find out what actually happened. Let him go free. Please. _

Ginny and Astoria simultaneous touched his hands and squeezed them in support. Harry stared hard at Sirius; even if they didn't quite see each other he tried to get across his affection and support.

He wasn't the only one having a hard time with this. Remus Lupin was sitting two rows behind Harry, having been keeping a discreet eye on the boy ever since he entered the courtroom. He had wanted to be close to his close friend's son – he would have raised him if given the opportunity. But he was a werewolf, and he hadn't even been allowed to see him. It was painful. But even that had nothing on seeing his best friend in chains, about to be interrogated as Voldemort's top death eater.

But at least he would finally know why Sirius had sold out Lily and James to Voldemort. If nothing else, Remus wanted, needed to know why.

**Back in the Court Room**

Samantha swallowed her conflicting emotions as she watched Amelia have Veritaserum administrated to Sirius.

She couldn't help but notice that Dumbledore was looking extremely alarmed; near panicky in fact. Absently she wondered why, though it was sort of overwhelmed by her current feelings for Sirius. Despite his crime, despite his condition, her heart was beating faster quite without her permission, and she had to force it down.

She was in a courtroom. Her feelings had no measure. She had questions to ask.

She cleared her throat and began reading from her sheet of paper. "Are you Sirius Orion Black?"

"Yes." Sirius said. His eyes looked normal, but the fact that he was under the truth serum was evident from his posture.

Now for the hard part. "What did your master tell you about the Horcruxes?"

"..."

"What do you know about the Horcruxes? How many did he make?"

"...I can't tell you."

Samantha's eyes narrowed. "And why is that?"

At this, Sirius raised his dark eyes from the floor to meet hers, and there was anguish, rage and pain in them all at once. "Because I was never a Death Eater."

There were three painful seconds where a dead silence reigned.

Then someone screamed, and the stands dissolved into anarchy; there were all kinds of shouting and screams and disbelieving cries.

Amelia had leapt up in her chair and was staring down at Sirius in shock and the beginnings of horror. Samantha took a step backwards. Dumbledore buried his face in his hands. Rita paused in her whisperings to stare at Sirius in shock, before rapidly talking to her quill in a normal tone of voice. Remus gasped.

And Harry – Harry just stood up straight, heedless to the Aurors shouting and casting everything up to stunners to regain control and order within the stands, and he started to smile. He was grateful, now, that he had talked to Blaise's mother before the trial started. It would only get better from here.

Eventually, the clamour fell down to a simmer. Sirius seemed not to notice any of this; his eyes were on Samantha, who was staring back at him, professionalism temporarily abandoned.

"There is a mark..." Sirius said slowly, when he was sure he could be heard. "...that Voldemort uses to identify his followers. It has been cast over houses where they did their work. Every death eater has it. Even the spies. There are no exceptions." He paused, as the expected ripple of wincing went through the spectators. "I don't."

Sirius clearly expected another explosion, but silence followed this. Everyone seemed to be on the edges of their chairs.

"Check him," Amelia ordered a nearby Auror – Kingsley – in a tone that would booker no arguing.

The dark man nodded and walked over to where the accused was sitting bound in his chair. He turned Sirius's left arm over and pulled up his sleeve.

A shocked cry rippled through the room. The man's arm was bare; there was no trace of the damning mark.

Samantha put a hand over her mouth for a second, her heart hammering. This wasn't happening; she'd left someone she cared about in a living hell? He was innocent! Sirius was innocent! What had she missed?

"How is this possible?" She asked, damn her voice but it was trembling ever so slightly.

"I was framed." Sirius responded, his voice becoming harsh and angry. "By someone who I thought was a friend. The real spy of Lord Voldemort – the one who betrayed James and Lily."

"And who was that?"

"Peter Pettigrew."

Another stony, shocked silence.

Something horrible occurred to Samantha. "Is he dead?"

"No."

"How is that possible? There was a street full of witnesses that saw you blow him to pieces with a single curse."

"Peter was a better duellist then he let on." Sirius growled, his voice shaking. "I wasn't thinking straight...I had just seen James's body. I was crazy with grief and anger. I chased him all the way to that street. I cornered him...but I wasn't careful enough."

He waited, clearly expecting to be interrupted. But there was still silence; it was as if everyone in the room was holding their breath.

"Peter was secretly an animagus. I know this because I witnessed his first transformation. He learned how to do it when we were still in school at Hogwarts. Peter's animagus form is that of a garden rat."

Sirius let out a bitter chuckle. "Makes it obvious in retrospect, doesn't it? When I took out my wand to stop him, bring him in, kill him, anything, he held his wand behind his back and blew up the street. Then, he cut off his finger, transformed into a rat, and sped into the sewers."

Samantha took a shaky breath, her mind spinning as she recalled the scene, going over the clues that might have indicated her object of affection's innocence. "Is that why you were laughing?"

Sirius swallowed hard. "I couldn't believe it...Peter, the traitor...we'd been friends since first year. I would have died before betraying James...I would have thought he would have done the same. He didn't. That's what was so funny."

Several people gasped with pity. Harry's fingers were trembling as he watched and listened, still standing up. Some of the other people were watching him, some warily and others nervously. His reaction to all this was currently impossible to deduce; his face was expressionless.

"How exactly is this relevant to the current case?" Amelia Bones asked.

"Dumbledore cast the Fidelius Charm with Peter as the Secret Keeper," Sirius said heavily. "James told him about the switch at the last second. He knew all along."

Dumbledore glared at Sirius. _You shouldn't have said that, Sirius. _He thought. _It was all for the Greater Good, and I didn't want to have to go against you. You were a useful tool in many ways, and I could have used your acclaim to help smooth the world over after the second wizarding war. _

_Now I need another plan. The attack on me is getting stronger. The Zabini woman was involved with Sirius back in the day; I knew I was right to separate them...but now she'll be on my case extra...I need a new plan, and fast. _

**End Chapter**

**Dumbledore annoyed me in Deathly Hallows because he can't be both a flawed man and a completely infallible chessmaster. He's supposed to make mistakes but each of his assessments of people's characters and how they're going to react to situations are pretty much perfect. people don't work like that. **

**Read and Review please!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Trouble**

**Moon: I hate courtroom scenes. I really, really hate courtroom scenes. I'm going to be drawing this story to a close soon with an epolouge, so this is leading up to the final dealing-with-Voldemort-and-the-thing-in-Harry's-he ad. **

**Chapter 18: Dumbledore's Trial part 2**

The court called a recess in light of Sirius Black's innocence, as the proper paperwork had to be filed. The crowd was restless, even with the Aurors keeping the peace. People were talking, babbling and gesturing animatedly. Harry had taken to the roof of the building to get some peace, his girls and the two boys with him.

"I can't believe this," Dean said when they were alone. "Sirius Black, innocent, this whole time. Merlin, how does that happen?"

"This is the problem with the wizarding world having only one jail, that jail being Azkaban," Harry said dryly. "There's no such thing as treatment or therapy for lesser offences, and on the offchance that you made a mistake – congratulations, you've been torturing an innocent man for the last eleven years. It's sick, Azkaban. No matter what the inmates did, exposes them to constant torture and practising summary execution are not the answers." Harry said with a sigh.

After a moment he said, "I'm starting to think that the minute this mess is over I'm going to move to America or Switzerland or something. At least I can blend in there."

Astoria let out her breath. "I'm not going to argue with you on that one Harry. I think I'll have seen enough of this place when they've finally put Dumbledore away. And if they don't – well, then I have even more of a reason to take off."

Her sister nodded in agreement of this, taking a deep breath of the cool, clean air. "I like your muggle friends, Harry." She said.

"You've said so before," Harry said with a smile. "They appreciate it."

"I can't believe lived my whole life without a television set," Ginny said wonderingly. Dean snickered at this, though he raised his hands in a gesture of surrender when all four girls turned to glare at him. "I can't wait to see what else muggles can do. My dad will have a field day. He's been all over the box of nick-nacks you sent him for ages now, Harry."

"You guys can take a vacation to Italy with me, if you need a change of scenery," Blaise offered. "Mum doesn't mind muggle friends as long as they mind their behaviour."

"Do you still have your family mansion?" Daphne asked.

Blaise just shrugged. "It's mostly historical, Daph. There's a few places that my mum owns that I've never even seen before. I don't see the point in having dozens of places that I'm not going to live in until I become an adult."

Harry sighed. "I suppose I should be grateful for my wealth, because I'm going to have to visit a child psychiatrist before I get a job in the muggle world."

"A psychiatrist?" Tracy echoed in confusion.

Harry stared at her for a second, and then groaned. "You don't have those, either? Damn, no wonder people like Moldyshorts exist. A psychiatrist is someone who helps you when you've experienced trauma, abusive parents, or other cataclysmic things that affect both children and adults. I've already paid for someone to start helping Miranda with her Kleptomania and I'll probably have to enter a rehab program myself, with my rap sheet."

"Rap sheets," Tracy pondered this. "Harry, tell us more about the child jail you said was a better home than the Dursleys."

So, sitting on the roof waiting for the rest of the trial to start, Harry told them about chronic offenders, and about how minors were handled in the justice system. This conversation also delved into the muggle adult system, as well as rehabilitation programs and the insanity exemption.

"So if you're crazy, like Bellatrix Lestrange, they dump you in this 'rehabilitation' centre in stead of normal jail?" Astoria asked for clarification.

Harry almost laughed. "Lestrange? I doubt it, she's too far gone, even for a rehab program. She'd be sent to an asylum prison home for treatment until she passed away, more likely. You have to be less fucked up than that if you're going to get released on bail. It's sad, but true."

Ginny frowned. "Then exactly how far along do you have to be before even a rehab can't help you?"

"I'd say you'd have to be like Draco." When the Greengrass sisters stared at him, he chuckled and said, "I know, it can seem hard to believe. But how long you live with your beliefs is directly preportionate to how possible it is to break you of them. Someone like Draco can be saved by a program, depending on how stubbornly they cling to what they're taught. It's called corruption of a minor – they catch you like that, and they have to work with you until you've dropped the view."

"Britain should have a system closer to the muggle one," Dean said. "This kind of stuff is much less likely to happen that way."

"You mean the Minister of Magic would have to admit that the muggles are better at something then we are?" Astoria asked, rolling her eyes. "We'd better just move to Switzerland."

"And take Amelia Bones with us," Harry muttered. "She's the only competent member of the Wizamgot that I've seen so far."

Ginny laughed. "Take Amelia Bones? Then the Wizamgot really won't be able to function enough to make a whit of difference in anything."

The kids all gave sarcastic laughs to this.

"I can just imagine what Carrie would have to say about that," Harry deadpanned. "And it involves a lot of language that would get her in trouble with your mother, Ginny."

"I heard her going off at Pierce for a prank he pulled yesterday," Dean said. "Damn Harry, your sister's pretty but she's got a filthy mouth."

Harry arched an eyebrow. "You think my sister's pretty?"

Dean's cheeks flushed. "I saw her twice, and...yeah, she's pretty, and she's intimidating as all hell. Totally out of my league. It's part of what makes her attractive."

Daphne covered an unladylike snicker with a cough. "So the 'girls want bad boys' goes both ways, huh Dean?" Harry asked teasingly.

The football fan blushed harder and said, "I'm not answering that!"

The group laughed some more, before Ginny became sombre.

"You ready to testify Harry?" Ginny asked more seriously, watching Harry with her emotional brown eyes. Her concern was evident.

"Ready as I'll ever be," Harry said. "I'm not perfect, but I know that the way you were put in danger was wrong, and I'm going to take him down for it.

Ginny smiled, leaned in and kissed him. Harry blushed, Dean whistled and Blaise smiled dryly. "Try not to let the cross-examiner intimidate you too much," the Italian boy told Harry. "They're going to be rough with you to try to make a better case for their client. Keep control of your emotions, or they'll say your judgement is compromised."

"That means they'll throw out my testimony, right?" Harry asked, trying to remember what Carrie had told him about adult courts."

"Yes." Blaise said. "That's not your game. Stay calm and collected, answer each of his questions rationally in a way that complements your story."

Harry nodded. "Thanks Blaise. I'm going last, though, so I have time to prepare."

Astoria smiled. "I'll help you with that." Daphne rolled her eyes but smiled as well at her sister's enthusiasm.

"I know you will. You guys are great." Harry gave a soft smile. "It's nice to have a family."

"They're going to release Sirius today." Blaise said. "Because he was never charged in the first place. Is he coming home with you, Harry?"

"Of course he is. I wanted my godfather home as soon as possible. I never had a father before this...and I wanted to know him." Harry said, his eyes downcast.

There was a sound like a bell ringing. "That's the second half of the trial," Harry said grimly. "Let's go guys. Things are going down today, for better or worse." His friends nodded.

**Back in the Courtroom**

Samantha had drunk a lot of water and a calming draught to prepare herself for the next part of the trial. Her fingers ran through her long, silken black hair as she reestablished her mental defences and barriers, having had them damaged in the earlier events.

She never liked to admit she was rattled; she prided herself on how well she controlled her emotions. Having complete self-control was paramount in both her professions. But if she was honest at all, the trial and its revelations had shaken her quite badly for the first time since she was a child.

Mostly due to her romantic attachment to Sirius.

The shock of learning Sirius Black's innocence only raised more questions regarding how the entire war was handled, and she had had to adjust her questions for Dumbledore accordingly. She had cursed herself for not considering the possibility the Potters had switched Secret Keepers, for not ensuring that Sirius had a trial, for not demanding answers from Dumbledore...eventually she shut the questions out on the grounds that they were distracting her from her current appointment.

Now she was more determined than before to bring down Albus Dumbledore, aside from him putting her son's life in danger.

Samantha checked her questions and frowned at the sheet.

Next up was Harry Potter in the witness stand. She could only hope the boy kept a lid on his usual sarcastic and flippant attitude when he was being examined, or things could go badly for him.

Rita Skeeter was going to be near world famous after this, she thought glancing at the chair where the blonde reporter was writing away. Well, at least she was getting her money's worth on accurate information.

Samantha took a breath and walked back out into the courtroom. After this hearing, she was going to lie down and sleep for forty two hours. She was going to need it.

Sirius was sitting in a nearby stand, having gotten a meal after he was released by Amelia. He spotted her watching him and he smiled hesitantly at her. She gave him a half-smile in return before putting on her game face. There was as much chatter in the stands as the Aurors would allow; Amelia returned to her place as judge and when the jury returned, nodded at Samantha.

"Recess has been completed, the trial of Albus Dumbledore will continue," She said in a ringing voice. The crowd quieted. "Over to you, Prosecutor."

Samantha nodded. "I call Harry Potter to the witness stand."

The expected murmurs swept through the crowd as Harry walked across the floor, not looking at Dumbledore, and up onto the witness chair. He shot a smile at Sirius.

"Sirius Black, as Harry's guardian do you authorize a child's dose of Verastrium?" Amelia boomed. Dumbledore looked angry at this but said nothing.

"I do," Sirius said, his voice was still scratchy but he sounded better than he had before.

Harry frowned at the glass he was given but drank it without complaint. Samantha exhaled. _Good boy. Please continue like that_. "Are you Harry James Potter?"

"Yes ma'am."

"What is your relationship with the accused?"

"I was a student at Hogwarts for the two years where he was Headmaster. I will be returning there for my third year. Other than that, nothing." Harry said.

Dumbledore's eyes narrowed at this, he had tried to draw the boy closer to him through the trials and tasks he had set up but the boy's nature had turned almost all his plans against him. Those muggle lawbreakers must have schooled this into him. If only he had made sure Harry hadn't interacted with them.

"Describe the life you lead with the family Dumbledore left you with."

People seemed to lean in.

Harry let out a sigh and said, "Well, I never new anything about my parents. I hadn't even seen a photo of them until the Gamekeeper Hagrid gave me an album. My aunt told me that they were drunks who died in a car crash. I slept in a cupboard under the stairwell; and I was a punching bag for my cousin. Whenever he did something wrong, I got blamed and punished for it. Petunia threw a cast-iron frying pan at my head twice." He tapped a scar just above his eye. "Vernon would beat me up. Dudley had a game he called Harry Hunting – he and a group of his friends would chase me and beat me up if they caught me. They rarely fed me, and when they did it was usually with scraps – never a balanced meal. I had no friends. I almost never went to the hospital. I was always lonely and scared, and I still don't understand exactly why they hated me so much."

He stopped, and there was a roar of outrage in the crowd. Samantha waited for it to simmer again before asking her next question.

"Were there ever any changes in their behaviour?"

"Only after I got imprisoned for shoving Dudley off the roof to protect myself, and the muggle authorities moved me to a child's detention centre." Harry responded. "The officer who brought me in was suspicious of my situation and threatened my uncle with surprise visits to monitor my behaviour. He was forced to curb his treatment of me but he by no means stopped it."

Samantha watched Harry curiously. "Can you elaborate on 'youth detention centre'? And how many times were you placed there?"

"Juvenile Detention is a place where muggles place children up to age 17 who wave run afoul with the law." Harry explained. "They're not as severe as adult prisons, and they work to rehabilitate young offenders, but they keep them from hurting other people and serious offenders may be transported to adult centres if they don't clean up their act." He paused thoughtfully and then said, "Honestly, I can't keep track of the number of times I got myself arrested. I'd say I spent most of my years there until I turned eleven."

Another sweeping murmur, while Sirius looked like he was about to explode when he heard this. Amelia looked thoughtful, considering the possible upsides to establishing a wizarding youth detention. Samantha nodded and continued her questioning.

"You were a key figure in both the Troll/Cerberus attack and later with the Chamber of Secrets incidents. Can you tell us about the first one and then the second?"

"They were leading the students out of the Great Hall when I realized one of my classmates was missing and didn't know about the attack." Harry said. "Hermione Granger. She was in the bathrooms when the attack started and I didn't know if she had heard the warning. I meant to quickly to and warn her only to find the troll practically on top of her. Luckily for me, Tracy and Daphne had come with me and Daphne knew some offensive spells. We got the attention of the troll and took it up the stairwell. Tracy and Hermione joined me with Dean Thomas and Blaise Zabini. But when we neared the third floor, a Cerberus lunged out of the shadows and killed the troll. It then turned its attention to us. We just barely managed to outrun it and take sanctuary in the Armoury. Dumbledore had said at the beginning of the year that the third corridor was out of bounds to anyone who didn't want to die an extremely painful death."

Samantha bit her lip. She didn't like how emotionally invested she was in this trial – it usually took much more than a few words to make her angry.

"So Dumbledore was keeping the Cerberus inside the school?"

"A starving Cerberus." Harry confirmed.

"And the Chamber incident?" Samantha continued.

"I saw Ginny writing in the diary a few times, but I didn't know what it was," Harry said. "We weren't in the same house, after all. I watched while kids kept getting petrified, and it took me a while to figure out exactly what was going on – literally four hours after discovering Hogwarts was housing a Basilisk Daphne and Ginny were kidnapped. Myself, Tracy and Astoria entered the Chamber when I heard they were sending Lockhart in to look for them – and when he didn't, we had to save them ourselves, because no one else would."

Harry paused meaningfully. There was silence in the courtroom. When no one said anything, he continued, "Tom Riddle materialized when we found Ginny and Daphne prone and silent. He explained that he had stolen their lifeforces; and when Astoria threatened to destroy the diary he told them that he would destroy us and everything we cared about, announcing his identity as Voldemort."

"And everything else you know."

%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&

Harry left the stand, the courtroom a simmering pot waiting to explode. And Samantha's final witness would see to that explosion, one way or another.

"I call Albus Dumbledore to the stand."

**End Chapter**

**Remember Carol Winchester? she serves her purpose very soon. Multitasking means you didn't see much of her, but like I said, she has her part next chapter. Anyway, the finale of Dumbeldore's trial is coming up next, don't abandon me just yet!**

**Read and Review please!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Trouble**

**Moon: Okay, this is the last chapter of Trouble! I liked this story a lot, I hope you did to. I'm sorry if this seems haphazard, but I honestly didn't want to drag it out with another 'Dumbledore explains in great detail why he's a horrible person', because those scenes have been done to death and are a little tedious, because you've seen them before. And honestly, this covers all my bases. I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 19: Vindicated, Healed and Epologue**

Harry sat back in his chair, exhaling, watching the scene in front of him when someone came up behind him. "Hey Trouble."

He turned his head and looked in surprise. "Carrie, Pierce, Miranda, Katelyn, Justin, Alex. How'd you guys get here?"

"I remembered the way in," Carrie said.

"Kingsley Shakabolt was so kind as to point us here. It can't be added to the list of offences because most wizards consider it due course, but Dumbledore tried to have us Obliviated and moved away from you." Miranda explained.

"What?" Harry exclaimed angrily. "When did that happen?"

"When you were having your latest interview with Skeeter." Pierce chipped in helpfully. "Lucky for us, Kingsley thought the Aurors he bribed her were acting out of line. Our memory of the incident was removed for a little, but he decided that if Dumbledore was going down that they should mention it."

There were no small amount of murmurs as the group of muggles politely edged their way into places around Harry and his friends. There were some murmurs of recognition as people who had read Skeeter's articles made the connection between them and the Juvenile friends Harry had mentioned in the press.

"I can't believe it, the lives of people saved by Rita Skeeter." Tracy laughed. "My mum will get a good laugh over that."

"We figured we should be here to see the fallout of this mess. Anybody who thinks the Dursleys were decent guardians needs therapy as much as some of us do," At this Alex threw a pointed look at Katelyn, who giggled shamelessly.

Astoria smiled back at the muggles until Samantha was done administering the truth potion to Dumbledore.

%&%&%&%&%&%&&%&%&

"Albus Dumbledore, are all the allegations directed at you true?"

"They are not all entirely accurate. I was merely doing what I had to do in the name of the Greater Good."

There was a loud murmuring passing through the crowd at this. Harry shot a confused look at Blaise and Tracy, who were suddenly sitting rigid in their chairs. "What?"

Tracy was doing her best to glare a hole through the glass and spells to where Dumbledore's head was. She said something in German that Harry was willing to bet would've earned her a lecture from Mrs. Weasley.

Blaise filled in for her. "That phrase, the Greater Good, was the slogan of the Dark Lord that came before Voldemort – Gellert Grindelwald. He was a terror across Europe, but the people who suffered the most from his attacks were the German wizards."

He glanced at Tracy, who nodded curtly without looking at him. Then he added, "Tracy's grandmother was captured by some of his men during that time...well, she didn't meet a gentle end."

Dean was glaring at the man he once respected as well, "Dumbledore was the one who defeated him in the end, after a violent battle. Why would he use that phrase now? He's more familiar than anyone with its history."

"How, exactly, does the Greater Good pertain to anything that has occurred to Harry Potter and the students of Hogwarts?" Samantha enquired dryly.

"The final destruction of Lord Voldemort." Albus responded.

There was silence in the courtroom as everyone digested this.

"Go on," Samantha responded icily.

"The Dark Lord created Horcruxes," Albus continued calmly, as if he was just instructing students on a mistake they made in class instead of speaking to a prosecutor. "Seven of them, to be exact. The last one, however, was not one he had intended to make. Harry himself."

Silence. Then a woman screamed, and the exhausted Aurors were forced to regain control of the courtroom once again. Harry vaguely heard one of the aurors muttering that she better be getting a pay raise for today, but he hardly registered it through his shock.

"Horcrux?" Carrie muttered in confusion.

Slowly, Harry raised his hand to his forehead, touching the scar that had been given to him the day his parents died. In the moment, the skin seemed to pulse beneath his fingers – then there was a sharp prick and a distant cry of fury.

"Harry!" Ginny cried. Harry had doubled over in his seat.

"It's fine," He said through his teeth, "...I need to hear the rest of this."

"When Voldemort killed Lily Potter and the curse backfired, part of his soul became attached to the first living thing it could touch – Harry himself."

"Wait," Samantha interrupted, "You said earlier that Harry was given protection by his mother; part of this protection was what you used to raise the Blood Wards. This could apparently burn Voldemort's body beyond repair, and yet doesn't protect him from a piece of his soul?"

Dumbledore paused and then blinked. Laughter rang through the hallway, causing his ears to turn a little red. "Ah – nevertheless, there is no way to destroy Horcruxes without hurting Harry. And there was no way to destroy Voldemort without his final Horcrux gone. The only way he will be destroyed is that he must kill Harry."

Tonks would later be found talking to the female auror – Hestia Jones, Harry would learn her name was – about how they were going to ask Amelia for compensation for how trying and ultimately traumatizing controlling the crowds were. Hestia had ended up covered in food from some of the upturned dinner trays that people had thrown around, and the pretty woman appreciated that even less then getting hexed several times.

Harry had simply sat still while the chaos erupted around him; his muggle friends were shouting while Ginny and Astoria had death grips on his hands. Daphne and Tracy had formed a protective ring around him to stop anything from happening.

"He simply had to be ready," Dumbledore went on when he could finally be heard again. "His aunt and uncle's house was the safest place he could live, and he would not grow up indulged and spoiled like he may have if raised by a wizard. When he came to Hogwarts, I would guide him through his tasks until his final job was done."

Harry expected more noise. He really did. But there was simply a silence, a long, crushing silence where everyone was glaring at Dumbledore.

"Madam Bones?" Samantha asked simply. "May we adjust the record?"

"Yes, of course," Amelia said coldly.

"Add to the list of charges, 'conspiracy to murder a minor'." Samantha said. "What is the word of the Jury?"

"GUILTY." Many voices boomed at once, trying to be heard over each other.

"Take him away," Amelia said simply.

%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&

Harry felt a hand on his shoulder. Thinking it was Carrie, he tried to shrug it off. And then a warm sensation took hold, driving away the nausea that had threatened to overwhelm him a second ago.

He looked over his shoulder to see Carol Winchester standing behind him, her ethereal eyes burning gold with intensity.

"I can save you," She said simply.

**Potter Manor**

It was a very chaotic room, considering how quiet and cold it was.

Sirius, Andromeda, Remus, Tonks and Samantha had all followed Harry and Carol back to the Manor. Andromeda kept asking who Carol was, Sirius kept demanding to know what the hell was going on, Remus looked remorseful, angry, and confused all at once, Samantha and Tonks were both looking tired, cranky, angry and just frustrated.

The kids were the other problem. Harry's girls had wanted to sit with him, but Carol had gently explained that she needed to be alone. Both Ginny and Astoria were sitting in front of the door, trying to set it on fire through sheer anger and worry. Daphne was pacing. Tracy occasionally summoned boxes that she promptly obliterated with a blasting curse. Dean and Blaise were sitting awkwardly to the side, watching the spectacle with an equal measure of worry and nervousness.

Harry's muggle friends were doing little better. Carrie was pacing and cursing everyone above the age of thirty under her breath, Pierce was fidgeting with his coat, Miranda was picking up various objects and crying with worry intermediately, Katelyn was playing with her lighter and staring at the very much wooden floor, Alex was taking turns between staring at the wizards and making sure Katelyn didn't combusted anything in her current mood, while Justin just looked horribly out of place.

In the time they were waiting, there was some ice breaking and hasty introductions. Sirius and Samantha had hugged, through the current events somewhat spoiled their reunion. Remus apologized for not believing in Sirius's innocence, Sirius apologized for thinking he had been the spy in the past. Andromeda had introduced Tonks to Remus, who despite having a very trying day blushed hotly when they shook hands.

Dean then awkwardly introduced Sirius to the muggles. Carrie cracked a grin when he offered to take her under his wing, i.e away from her birth family. Pierce and Miranda asked Remus questions about werewolves to try and pass the time.

Katelyn just asked about anti-fire charms.

It would have been an interesting conversation, had the talkers not been distracted.

Finally Samantha exploded, "Damn that old bastard! This should have happened years ago," She jerked a thumb towards the room.

Carrie stopped her pacing and looked at the older woman. "Wait, what? What do you mean, 'should have happened years ago'?"

Samantha glanced among the muggles and said, "The Winchesters are a quiet family surrounded by myth and suspicion. Charles Potter approached the family after saving their youngest child during the war on Voldemort. They have a family power – healing magic comes to them as naturally as breathing."

"That's amazing," Tonks said.

"It comes with a price," Samantha responded seriously. "If Carol succeeds in what she intends to do – remove the Horcrux and burn it to cinders without any incidents – both she and Harry will be in a magical coma."

"For how long?" Sirius asked tensely.

"Three months, again, if nothing goes wrong." Samantha responded.

"And if something does go wrong?" Astoria asked, her voice hard.

"Then Carol will likely die, and Harry potentially fused or taken over by the Horcrux." Samantha responded tersely. "It's his only option, and it's not an entirely safe one, but Horcruxes being what they are, you have to take a chance – unless you'd rather we just went with Dumbledore's route."

A shiver went through the room.

"He'll be okay," Ginny murmured. "He's got to be."

**Harry and Carol**

Harry was standing in the confines of his mind. He knew this.

It was a ruined city. It had clearly been first bombed, and then burned, and there was very little left standing.

There were light footsteps on the ground, and Harry turned to see Carol walking towards him. She was wearing a flower-painted dress.

"Harry," She said softly. "I found it."

Harry didn't have to ask what 'it' was. His forehead had felt like someone was trying to split his skill with an axe when Carol had touched his scar. That was it. The last Horcrux. The one inside him, the last remenant of the man who had killed his parents.

"Can we get rid of it?"

"I can give you the strength. But in the end, you will be the one to destroy him. Like the prophecy said." Carol asked.

Harry was too tired to ask what prophecy Carol was referring to; he just nodded and followed her down the twisting, broken streets.

Eventually, they reached Little Whining. In the middle of the street right in front of the entrance to Privet Drive was a black shadow.

The shadow's shape was humaniod, but there its resemblance to a human being ended. It was scarred hideously and covered in dried blood, it was missing an eye and a few fingers. One leg was bent at and unnatural angle, and a long mane of matted, tangled, straggly parody of hair fell down to its ankles. It saw Harry, and snarled in a strangled voice like breaking glass.

Harry glanced at Carol and saw her expression. "You pity him?"

"To an extent." Carol said. "Look at that. That isn't arrogance. That's desperation. I wonder why he ever felt the need to make these things." She gestured to the shade, which snarled again.

Harry sighed. He had thought about that, occasionally. He knew that some criminals started out like him, and then walked further down the path until they could never come back. He was grateful for his friends; without them, he might have gone down that road too.

"We can't turn things back now," He said simply. "But we can end the pain and suffering, right now."

Carol nodded and raised her hands. She opened her mouth, and a long, beautiful note of music rang from it. The Horcrux screamed in pain and tried to lunge for her, but it was caught in a golden web.

Harry raised his hand to one side. The sword of Gryffindor appeared in it, as real as it had when he had summoned it in the Chamber of Secrets. He gripped the handle, ran towards the creature and slashed.

With a final scream, the Horcrux, and Lord Voldemort, were gone.

**Later**

Harry wasn't sure how long he had been in bed. He woke up, pushing himself up and blinking rapidly. He was still in Potter Manor. Carol, who was lying in bed next to him, also got up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

Then the screaming started.

Harry was promptly assaulted by hugs and kisses and cries of relief from all his friends and his loved ones.

"You're awake!"

"It's over," Sirius said happily.

Harry smiled up at his godfather, the pain he had kept inside him finally laid to rest. "Yeah. It's over."

**Several Years Later**

Sorting at Hogwarts was always a fun time for the students and the staff. Minerva McGonagall, the new headmaster of the last few years, watched the new first years walk in with a certain amount of trepidation. She figured she'd need a few painkillers on hand for some of her classes – for the pranks that would undoubtedly happen.

"Black, Emily!" A girl with dark hair, tanned skin and a mischievous smirk ran up to the seat. She flashed a grin at her Headmistress and sat down. The hat was on her head for a moment before shouting, "Gryffindor!" Emily cheered and headed for the read house.

"Black, Regulus!" Emily's brother approached the hat more cautiously, casting the tables a glance before sitting down. "Ravenclaw!" Regulus smiled hopefully before heading to the table of smarts.

"Bones, Marcus!" "Hufflepuff!" A young boy vaulted off the chair and walked over to the cheering yellow table.

"Collins, Diana." A figiting young girl asked, "Ravenclaw!" "Ravenclaw it is, then!"

"Fawkes, Anthony." Tony, as he preferred, said to the hat, "Hufflepuff, please." "Very well. Hufflepuff!"

"Malfoy, Lupa!" A silvery haired girl was put in Gryffindor, to the shock of the onlookers, followed by her brother Scorpious, who was put in Slytherin.

"Longbottom, Danielle!" "Gryffindor!" Danielle waved to her father, who was sitting at the staff table, before heading to her ancestral house.

"Selene, Lovegood-Zabini." "Slytherin!" A dreamy girl walked over to the table of the snakes, her blue eyes following the ghosts.

"Potter, Sirius." Silence filled the hall as a dark-haired young boy, smirking with enthusiasm, approached the hat and put it on his head. "Gryffindor!"

"Potter, Leah," A studious, serious looking young girl with black hair walked up to the hat. "Ravenclaw!"

"Potter, Lily," This girl was bubbly, red-haired and mischievous-looking, the hat was on her head for a bare minute before - "Slytherin!"

"Potter, Angela," A regal-looking blonde girl took the hat on her head and said, "Slytherin, please. Someone has to watch Lily." "Slytherin!"

"Potter, Matthew." "Gryffindor!"

"Potter, James." "Hufflepuff!" James looked laughably mortified when he heard this, but the enthusiastic cheering he got at the Hufflepuff table convinced him to go forward.

"Potter-Winchester, Jace." "Gryffindor!"

And so started the next school year. They proved to be interesting ones, though they would not have a Dark Lord hanging over them.

Right?

**End Chapter**

**Haha, those are (some) of the children I'll be using in any Next Generation fics that I write. (it'll be a big cast.) Again, I'm sorry its short, but I've been sick, there are a lot of different story ideas I want to begin in, and I have to tidy these up first. Runaway will be completed next, then I'll deal with the Fourth Wall. Wand Knife and Silence will be a whole lot longer through, it got away from me during development.**

**Thank you all so much for reading! Review on the way out please!**


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